MUNICH: Starting in June, Lufthansa, Eurowings and SWISS will deploy a total of 80 aircraft offering monthly restart schedules to 106 destinations in Germany and Europe, as the repatriation schedules end May 31. The Lufthansa Group’s airlines are thus responding to the growing interest of customers in air travel, following the gradual easing of restrictions and limitations in the German federal states and entry regulations of other countries in Europe. “We sense a great desire and longing among people to travel again. Hotels and restaurants are slowly opening, and visits to friends and family are in some cases being allowed…
Author: holidayweekly
DOHA: Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Qatar has been ranked the “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020. [huge_it_slider id=”543″] Climbing up from fourth position in 2019 to third in 2020, HIA has been steadily rising in the ‘World’s Best Airports’ rankings since the start of its operations in 2014. Engineer Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, said: “Every year that we move up the ranks is particularly rewarding as this honour comes directly from our passengers who have shared their experiences travelling through our…
BOGOTA: Colombian airline Avianca (AVH) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Southern District of New York on Sunday, May 10, blaming its collapse on the “unforeseeable impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” according to a company statement. Avianca, which was founded in 1919, claims to be the world’s second-oldest continuously running airline. As of the end of last year, it was the third-largest airline in Latin America based on market share, after Chile’s LATAM Airlines (LTM) and Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas (GOL), according to Euromonitor. The carrier is also part of the Star Alliance, the industry group that includes…
NEW DELHI: Following nearly a two-month lockdown due to Covid-19, Indian Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from today, May 12, said a report. Initially, 15 pairs of trains will run. These special trains will run from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi, said a report in Times of India. Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes, based on the available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for Covid-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches being reserved to…
DOHA: Qatar Airways will begin a phased approach to expanding its network this month.The Middle Eastern carrier said growth would be in line with passenger demand and the expected relaxation of entry restrictions around the world. Qatar Airways Group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, said: “As we follow the indicators of the global travel market on a daily basis, we continue to focus on our mission – how we can enable mobility for our customers and provide them with seamless connectivity to their final destination.” With entry restrictions constantly evolving, accurately predicting future travel is challenging. However, while the expectation…
British airline Virgin Atlantic plans to cut 3,150 jobs and move its London Gatwick operations to the bigger Heathrow airport, it said on Tuesday, as it counts the cost of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the US, United Airlines Holdings, which operates flights to Ireland, will cut at least 30 per cent of its managerial and administrative jobs when government restrictions lift in October, bracing for a prolonged travel slump in the age of Covid-19. In Australia, meanwhile, Qantas Airways warned public appetite to fly overseas could take years to return as the airline borrowed yet more funds to weather aviation’s…
Princess Cruises has cancelled a number of cruises through the end of the 2020 summer season. The line said reduced flight availability, the closure of cruise ports in regions around the world and other factors impacting international travel made the decision unavoidable. All remaining Alaska cruises on Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess for the summer season have been scrapped, along with European and transatlantic cruises on Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess, Crown Princess and Island Princess. Jan Swartz, president of Princess Cruises, said: “As the world is still preparing to resume travel, it is with much disappointment that we…
BRUSSELS: EU states should guarantee vouchers for travel cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic and start lifting internal border restrictions in a bid to salvage some of the summer tourism season, the bloc’s executive will say next week. Tourism, that normally contributes almost a tenth of the European Union’s economic output, is among the sectors hardest hit by the global outbreak that has grounded nearly all travel. Germany and other member states have urged a suspension of EU rules that force cash-drained airlines and the hospitality industry to offer full refunds for cancelled flights and trips instead of vouchers for future…
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister of Aviation Division GhulamSarwar Khan chaired a high-level meeting which was attended by the Secretary Aviation Division Hassan Nasir Jamy and other senior officers of the Aviation Division. Federal Minister reviewed the progress on the on-going process of segregation of functions of the Civil Aviation Authority. Federal Minister said that it is a matter of high importance and should be carried out at high priority in light of the decisions of the Federal Cabinet. GhulamSarwar Khan said that according to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to enhance the ease of doing business in Pakistan, the…
CAIRO: Egypt is allowing hotels to reopen for domestic tourists on condition they operate at no more than 25 percent capacity until the end of May and implement a range of other health measures to guard against the new coronavirus, the cabinet said on Sunday. The virus has shut down Egypt’s tourist sector, which accounts for 12 to 15 percent of gross domestic product, leading to losses estimated at $1 billion per month. The government has suspended international passenger flights and closed hotels, restaurants and cafes, as well as imposed a night curfew. For hotels to resume operations they must…