LONDON: London Gatwick Airport made global headlines just before Christmas when a number of drone incursions caused the airport to close for days. Now, the airport is making more global headlines, this time after it was revealed that French firm VINCI Airports has agreed to buy a controlling stake (50.01%) in the Sussex airport for £2.9 billion. VINCI Airports is a major airport owner, controlling over 45 airports located in France, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia, Cambodia, Japan, United States of America, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Chile and Brazil. It recently also purchased Belfast International Airport and is understood to also be…
Author: holidayweekly
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways is planning to launch three tourist trains soon with an aim to promote tourism in the country under the directives of Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed. The tourist trains with steam engines will be operated between Rawalpindi-Taxila, Peshawar-Attock Bridge, and Karachi-Keenjhar Lake, an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP. He said the launch of these trains would help Pakistan Railways to earn extra revenue. To a question, he said that different departments of federal and provincial government had to pay Rs2715.41 million to Pakistan Railways on account of freight and level crossing maintenance charges,…
BEJING: A new wave of young, adventurous, tech-savvy tourists from China are heading overseas and the Pacific region is being urged to find out what makes them tick. Chinese tourism experts say independent millennials will drive China’s outbound tourism boom in years to come and operators need to get ready. The post-80s generation of Chinese, brought up in one child families under former Chinese leader Deng Xiao Ping’s open door policy, are driving the flow, according to Cheng Mingming, Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Otago. These well-educated, well-off urbanites are China’s first generation to be able to travel…
KARACHI: Chairman Air Sial, Mr. Fazal Jilani, Mr. Usman Dar, Assistant to Prime Minister on Special Affairs and Federal Minister for Privatisation and Aviation Mian Muhammad Soomro met the prime minister on Friday, 29 December, to discuss the launch of the airline’s operations in the country. Air travel is expected to become cheap as a new airline is set to begin operations. Prime Minister Imran Khan has assured Air Sial that it will get permission for kicking off domestic operations in Pakistan. Air Sial, an airline of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry, plans to fly on domestic…
SEATTLE: Boeing and flyadeal announced the Middle East carrier is growing its fleet with the 737 MAX to take advantage of the airplane’s fuel efficiency, range and passenger comforts. The airline committed to ordering 30 airplanes with options for 20 more in a deal that would be valued at up to $5.9 billion at list price. The deal is subject to both sides concluding final terms and conditions and a purchase agreement. It will appear on Boeing’s Orders & Deliveries website once all contingencies are cleared. flyadeal, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Airlines, offers affordable flights within Saudi Arabia. Over…
DAMASCUS: The United Arab Emirates has reopened its embassy in Damascus, the latest sign of efforts to bring the Syrian government back into the Arab fold. The UAE broke ties with Syria in February 2012 as the repression of nationwide protests demanding regime change was escalating into a devastating war. Nearly seven years later, the Emirati flag was raised at a ceremony attended by diplomats and journalists on Thursday, 27 December. An acting charge d’affaires has already started working, an Emirati statement said, stressing that the UAE was “keen to put relations back on their normal track”. It said that…
ROME: Al-Ula, home to UNESCO World Heritage Site Madain Saleh, will be revealed to the world once tourism-related projects in the region are complete, Arab News reports. The announcement was made by Amr Madani, CEO of the Royal Commission for Al-Ula (RCU), during the launch of a community advocacy program aimed at promoting awareness around heritage and environmental preservation. The “Hammayah” program (Arabic for protection) was launched on Thursday, 28 December, at the Tantora Cultural Festival. The program is slated to create 2,500 employment opportunities in the region, all of whom will be groomed into gatekeepers to their city’s natural…
The negative perception about Pakistan has been changing fast with the passage of time as the security situation has improved to a very comfortable level. Over the years, terrorism in Pakistan has also reduced, which adds up to more and more people coming in to explore this beautiful four season tourism destination. Forbes too has placed Pakistan in its top 10 list of the places to visit in 2019. “Explore the valleys of Hunza, Shigar and Khaplu via the renowned Karakoram Highway,” suggests Sara Barbieri, a specialist with GeoEx. “Add to this the warm welcome of the people, the glacial…
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) launched on Monday, 24 December, direct flights from Lahore to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. According to the airline’s spokesperson there will be twice weekly flights from Lahore to both cities. The maiden flight, PK-896, left for the two cities in the early hours of Monday. Direct link between Lahore and Kuala Lumpur resumed after a gap of two years. On the routes, PIA will be utilising Boeing 777 aircraft and two weekly flights will be run – one via Bangkok and the other via Kuala Lumpur. PIA President and CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik, in…
KARACHI: SKAL International Karachi, the prestigious club of Travel and Tourism Professionals, hosted a lunch in honour of Aviation, Travel and Tourism professionals on 27th December 2018. Mr. Gurhan Sozen, General Manager Turkish Airlines (Karachi) was the Guest of Honour. The President SKAL Syed Javaid Hasan welcomed the Travel & Tourism Professionals. In his welcome note he gave a short briefing on the SKAL International working, aims and objectives. He said that SKAL International Karachi aims to promote sustainable travel and tourism activities focusing on constructive relationship and business connections with all major stakeholders. He hoped that the SKAL will…