BANGKOK: Thai Airways International will resume international flights on 37 routes starting Aug. 1, one month later than originally planned. The national flag carrier plans resumption of services on 26 routes, including to and from Paris, New Delhi, Guangzhou and Frankfurt. On Aug. 2, services will resume on the Beijing, Brisbane and Brussels routes, followed by those to Auckland and Jakarta the following day. The timing of resumption of flights to Milan, Rome, Moscow, Vienna, Stockholm, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Sendai, Kathmandu, Oslo and Colombo are yet to be announced. Meanwhile, THAI’s sister company, Thai Smile Airways, will resume operations of all…
Author: holidayweekly
LONDON: British Airways was labelled a “national disgrace” by lawmakers for its treatment of employees on Saturday, adding to pressure on the airline as it juggles job cuts and new quarantine rules. Britain’s Transport Select Committee said that BA and its parent company IAG were trying to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to cut 12,000 jobs and downgrade the terms and conditions of other employees. “It is unacceptable that a company would seek to drive this level of change under the cover of a pandemic,” Conservative lawmaker Huw Merriman, who chairs the committee, said in a report published on…
Airlines around the world will resume flying this month after an unprecedented shutdown forced by the coronavirus pandemic. Projections released by the International Air Transport Association show just how grim the situation has become as carriers hemorrhage cash and pile up borrowings. Here are four charts revealing the depth of the crisis: IATA, which represents 290 airlines, calculates that the industry has received $123 billion in various forms of state aid. Of that amount, $67 billion or 55% is repayable, creating a debt time-bomb for airlines seeking to survive off greatly reduced revenues in a shrunken travel market. Add in…
LONDON: British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair have launched a combined legal action against what they have branded a “flawed” quarantine introduced by the government earlier this week. From Monday travellers arriving by plane, ferry or train, including UK nationals must give an address where they will self-isolate. They are requested to self-isolate for two weeks, with rule breakers fined £1,000. Home secretary, Priti Patel, said the laws were designed “to prevent a second wave” of coronavirus. However, the move has been roundly condemned by the travel sector. In a statement, the three airlines said: “The UK government’s flawed quarantine which…
COLOGNE: German flag-carrier Lufthansa has said it will shed 22,000 jobs as it downsizes its operations in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. The airline has predicted a slow recovery in demand and expects to have about 100 fewer aircraft after the crisis. Lufthansa said half the job cuts would be in Germany. The group, which also controls Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings said it hopes to agree the measures with unions by June 22nd. It added that it hoped to minimize redundancies through short-time working and crisis agreements. “The aim is to pave the way for the preservation of…
BRUSSELS: All European Union member states were urged by the European Commission today, to start easing COVID-19 travel restrictions and re-open borders to visitors from ‘safe countries’. The EC wants travel restrictions on EU common borders lifted next week, and Europe’s ID check-free travel area to be up and running again by the end of June. Once that has happened, a ban on nonessential travel to the continent can also gradually be eased. The European Union executive says the list of countries with access should be based on three criteria: countries should have COVID-19 under at least as much control…
UNITED KINGDOM: Virgin Atlantic on Thursday announced its return to passenger flying with service from London Heathrow to four international cities starting next month. Starting on July 20 and 21, Virgin will begin flying from Heathrow to New York JFK, Los Angeles, Orlando, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. The carrier will then start gradually ramping up service to other destinations throughout the second half of 2020, and then throughout 2021. Like a lot of other carriers, Virgin is planning to relaunch with new health and safety measures including increased cleaning of boarding areas and cabins, social distancing practices “wherever possible” including…
ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways has launched a new travel vouchers scheme designed to entice customers back into the air. Passengers who buy an Etihad ticket before June 24th will receive 50 per cent of the cost of that ticket back, to use as credit on another flight after August 1st. The move comes at the Abu Dhabi-based flag-carrier rebuilds its network in the wake of the Covid-19 shutdown. Etihad Travel Vouchers can be purchased in increments of US$250 up to a maximum of US$65,000, and once bought are added to a travel bank for use by the customer. Travellers must…
BRUSSELS: All European Union member states were urged by the European Commission today, to start easing COVID-19 travel restrictions and re-open borders to visitors from ‘safe countries’. The EC wants travel restrictions on EU common borders lifted next week, and Europe’s ID check-free travel area to be up and running again by the end of June. Once that has happened, a ban on nonessential travel to the continent can also gradually be eased. The European Union executive says the list of countries with access should be based on three criteria: countries should have COVID-19 under at least as much control…
LONDON: If the UK Government keeps its recently imposed mandatory 14-day quarantine for new arrivals in place for the rest of the summer, the country will lose £20bn and 2.9 million jobs, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Visit Britain estimates that restrictions on entering the UK could see the number of foreign tourists fall almost 60pc this year The quarantine requirement, which was imposed on Monday, could be challenged in court by British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair, and business travel organisations have suggested to ministers that it could quickly be replaced by on-the-spot Covid-19 testing. The WTTC…