MANAMA: Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has once again successfully participated in the recent 2017 Saudi Aramco Annual Travel Show, held between February 20 and 23, at Saudi Aramco’s worldwide headquarters in Dhahran. Alongside travel agents, various airlines and travel and hospitality exhibitors, Gulf Air showcased and promoted some of the airline’s key products and services, its attractive flight schedule to/from five destinations in Saudi Arabia, its flexible and convenient travel proposition in addition to the latest news, flight schedules and fares to/from the airline’s newest route, Tbilisi, Georgia. Gulf Air operates one of the largest networks in…
Author: holidayweekly
ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways and Egyptair have announced a new codeshare partnership to be introduced in phases from March 1. Under the initial phase of the agreement, Etihad Airways will place its ‘EY’ code on Egyptair operated flights between Abu Dhabi and Cairo, while Egyptair will place its ‘MS’ code on Etihad Airways flights between the two capital cities. During the second phase, Etihad Airways will gain access to major cities across Africa on flights operated by Egyptair via its Cairo hub. In turn, Egyptair will be able to access key routes to Australia and the Far East served by…
BRUSSELS: Emirates has rejected claims by Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in a letter to the EU that competition from Gulf airlines had forced them to terminate services to Asia. The letter from the CEOs of the French and German carriers this week asked the European Union executive to act over what they say are unfair practices by the Gulf airlines that have caused them to scrap flights to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and India. “It is baffling why two of the largest legacy airlines in Europe are alleging that Gulf carriers have caused them to contract their Asian…
ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is planning to acquire over 2,800 acres of additional land to build a third runway at the Islamabad International Airport scheduled to be inaugurated on August 14 this year. The authority has to acquire 2,833 acres to build a third runway. However, some CAA officials believed that the third runway should run parallel to the other two runways which have already been built. They were of the view that the proposed site would not be feasible and that the CAA would have to bear the additional cost of a new air traffic control tower…
LONDON: Predictions of a tourism surge in Brexit Britain, fuelled by a weaker pound making the destination more affordable to overseas visitors, proved accurate for 2016 as 37.3 million inbound tourists visited the UK. A 3 per cent rise on 2015’s figures, visitors also spent £22.2bn (US$27.3bn, €25.9bn) in the UK, matching record figures from the previous year. In North America, Britain’s strongest market, visitor numbers rose by 7 per cent, with 4.3 million people visiting from the US and Canada. In Europe, there were a record 25.3 million visitors, an increase of 4 per cent year-on-year. “The strong growth…
QUETTA: Men, women and children dressed in their ethnic dress and celebrated Baloch Culture Day with great fervor & zeal across the province on Thursday, March 2. Many musical, cultural and literary functions and ceremonies to mark the culture day, were organized across Balochistan including Gwadar, Panjgur, Kharan, Chagai, Dalbandin, Nushki, Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, Bolan, Sibi, Nasirabad, Jaffarabad and other respective areas. An impressive event was held at Balochistan Press Club in which all aspects of life in Balochistan were highlighted. Cultural stalls displaying Baloch cuisine, embroidery among others were also set up. Moreover a shopping mall in Quetta was…
Two private individuals have made a huge payment out of their pockets just to go on a special trip next year: a tour around the moon. Space Exploration Technologies, better known as Spacex, revealed on Monday that the duo will start to undergo health and fitness tests and initial training later this year. The company run by Elon Musk has not identified yet the space tourists or disclosed the amount of paid deposit. “These individuals will travel into space, carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration,” Spacex said in a statement.…
LAHORE: The Government of Pakistan and the government of Abu Dhabi as per the contract have decided to release 1,040 Houbara Bustards into the wild in order to increase the current population of the species in Pakistan. The birds are imported from Abu Dhabi will be released in the district of Bahawalpur. According to the Wildlife Protection Department, the first batch of 500 birds reached Pakistan Thursday, March 1. The birds will be transported to Bahawalpur’s Lal Suhanra National Park on Friday, March 2. The spokesman of Wildlife Protection Department said it will ensure the protection of the released birds.…
DUBAI: Dubai authorities are grappling with new ways of keeping the emirate’s skies safe after drones halted air traffic at one of the world’s busiest airports three times last year. The delays were necessary to protect passengers, officials said, but they hit thousands of travellers and cost airlines millions of dollars. Drones pose a “threat to the flying public” and “to an aircraft in operation,” said Ismaeil al Blooshi, deputy head of the air safety department of the United Arab Emirates’ civil aviation authority. He compared drones to the threat posed by birds, but said they were less predictable and…
SYDNEY: Major Aussie tourism conference, Destination Australia, is back in 2017, where Australia’s leading tourism decision makers and marketers all convene to share their insights with the industry. The event will be held on March 16 at Doltone House Hyde Park, Sydney, with just 300 spaces available at the conference.Top executives from leading companies including Google, Facebook, Skift, Mastercard, HSBC, IPG Media Brands and Tourism Australia will cover the following topics: The top global megatrends defining travel in 2017 How Tourism Australia is tapping into high-yield international markets to increase spend How global political, economic and demographic trends will impact…