JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA), the national flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the first airline in the Middle East and Africa Region to receive the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Level 4 New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification. The ‘New Distribution Capability’ is a functionality used by the travel trade for booking air travel for individual and group bookings. It enables travel professionals to access content such images of the inflight cabin; add ancillary products, such as WiFi packages, excess baggage, and more. SAUDIA has deployed the Offer and IATA One Order Certified Order Management Solution from…
Author: holidayweekly
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s airspace along its eastern border with India will remain closed until July 12, a notice issued by the Civil Aviation Authority said on Thursday. The CAA had earlier extended the airspace restriction until June 30. On June 12, Pakistan had granted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plane permission to cross Pakistani airspace for his official trip to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Bishkek. A request was sent by the Indian government, asking the Pakistani government to allow the premier’s plane to cross through its airspace. However, he did not use that route. Pakistan closed its airspace…
Flynas has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for ten A321XLR aircraft. The new plane, which was launched at the Paris Air Show this week, is the longest-range variant of the A320. As part of the commitment, the airline wills also upsize ten of the A320neo it currently has on order to the A321neo.Flynas operates a fleet of 30 A320ceos and two A320neos. Since its inception in 2007, Flynas has set ambitious growth plans to continuously develop its fleet in order to carry more passengers. In 2018 the airline carried around 6.6 million passengers on 60,000 domestic and international…
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation has announced the opening of Neom Bay Airport in the northern region of Sharma. In a statement, the authority said that the airport has been licensed and is ready to receive commercial flights starting next week, after completion of the first phase of development work and registration by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) with the code “NUM”. The Neom Bay Airport is scheduled to receive its first commercial flight on Sunday (June 30). At present, Neom Bay Airport will operate regular flights to transport investors and employees of the Neom project,…
ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) here on Wednesday announced the schedule of pre-Hajj flight operations for Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport. According to the schedule, first pre-Hajj flight of a private airline will depart from Karachi on July 5. The flight, PA-1760 would leave for Saudi Arabia with over 180 intending pilgrims on board. From Karachi, the first PIA Hajj flight, PK-743, will depart at 7:00 pm with 225 passengers on board for Medina on July 5. Sources said that over 25,081 intending pilgrims would be transported to Saudi Arabia through 95 flights during the Hajj operation from Karachi and…
TEXAS: Sabre Corporation, the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, announces the release of Sabre Content Services for Lodging. This new solution will power agency and corporate booking tools, integrating traditional GDS content from hoteliers alongside content from Booking.com, Bedsonline, and Expedia Partner Solutions, making it easier for agents to find the perfect property and rate for their traveler. Travel buyers can shop and book over one million property options from multiple sources in a single screen. Solving for growing buyer demand and content fragmentation, Sabre Content Services for Lodging provides access to more options and a more…
LONDON: Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran are making it even tougher for airlines to fly over the Middle East, a heavily trafficked region where huge chunks of airspace are already off limits because of political rivalries or war. The latest headache for the global aviation industry came when Iran shot down an American surveillance drone, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to ban US airlines from flying above parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. The US agency said in an advisory that it was concerned about “heightened military activities and increased political tensions” in…
MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin’s environmental envoy has said Russia must limit the number of tourists visiting Lake Baikal, by volume the world’s largest freshwater in the world. Sergei Ivanov, the president’s special representative for nature conservation, ecology and transport, told a congress on water resources on Tuesday that “rubbish is increasing at an unbelievable pace” on the shores of Baikal. “Sooner or later we will have to artificially limit the flow of tourists to Baikal, as sad as it sounds,” Mr Ivanov said. “If we want to preserve Baikal’s uniqueness and keep it clean, we need to do something with the…
LAHORE: To commemorate the 180th death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjeet Singh, the Sikh ruler of Punjab, a life size statue of Maharaja on horseback was unveiled at Lahore Fort on Thursday, June 27. The statue has been sponsored to the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) by Bobby Singh, president of SK Foundation based in the United Kingdom. The weight of the statue is 250-330 kilogram. Eighty-five per bronze, 5 pc tin, 5 pc lead and 5 pc zinc have been used in its making. It took eight months to complete the statue and is brought to Pakistan by the…
ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, and Amadeus have extended their longstanding partnership for distribution services across channels. The partnership falls under the renewed 10-year agreement facilitated by the Arab Air Carriers Association (AACO), announced in December 2017. The collaboration also extends the agreement for distribution within the UAE and Oman through Amadeus Gulf LLC. This means travel sellers connected to Amadeus will be able to offer travellers an enriched booking experience in the UAE and Oman, as well as Etihad Airways’ full range of content. The agreement will enable the airline to drive profitability with…