Author: holidayweekly

KARACHI: Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Saturday, January 15, banned serving the inflight meal in line with the directives of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to stem the spread of Omicron, a new variant of coronavirus, from January 17. “Amid rising Omicron cases across the country, the NCOC bans serving meals/snacks onboard domestic flights and public transport effective from January 17,” the authority said on its Twitter handle. The National Command and Operation Centre in a meeting on Saturday discussed the epidemic curve chart data and disease prevalence in wake of rising disease trends in the country,…

PARIS: The French government’s official spokesman, Gabriel Attal, said after a weekly cabinet meeting on Wednesday that Paris would ease travel restrictions from the UK to France in the next few days. “I confirm that a further easing of the restrictions with the UK will be announced in the coming days,” Gabriel Attal told reporters. “Work is continuing. I hope that the announcement can be made by the end of the week.” Vaccinated travellers will no longer need a compelling reason to enter France, and will not have to self-isolate when they arrive. France dramatically tightened restrictions on travel from…

Pieter Elbers, the chief executive of KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, will not serve a third term, the company said on Thursday. Elbers, 51, is a 30-year veteran of the company who oversaw restructurings at KLM before and during the coronavirus pandemic. The company said he will step down as of May 1, 2023. KLM has been part of the Air France-KLM group since 2004, but relations between the Dutch subsidiary and its French-dominated parent have been strained in recent years by KLM’s relatively stronger financial performance. “The Air France-KLM Board of Directors has approved that the Supervisory…

LAHORE: The Punjab Foods Authority (PFA) has launched a `Star Rating Programme` in accordance with international standards to motivate and support the restaurant industry and provide good quality and service to customers. PFA Director General Rafaqat Ali Nissoana said this pilot project would help determine the standards of the hotels and restaurants in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi. He said the project would create a competitive environment among the food businesses for better services and each restaurant was marked with a star to show its ranking. He said the programme would act as an evaluating/measuring tool to reward the…

Virgin Atlantic has opened applications to recruit 400 new cabin crew as the airline continues to replace staff let go during the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline said its crew are famous for ensuring a safe and memorable in-flight experience for customers – reflecting the adventure that awaits them at their destination. Successful applicants will demonstrate a pioneering spirit, a desire to discover new places and cultures, a positive attitude and a passion for delivering thoughtful experiences to each customer. The roles will be part of an initial six-month fixed term contract with the view to extend. Virgin Atlantic firmly believes…

GENEVA: Airline ticket sales fell sharply at the end of 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Wednesday, blaming governments for having “over-reacted” to the Omicron COVID variant by closing borders. The IATA, which groups over 290 airlines, said international air travel had been slowly but steadily recovering from the mass shutdowns of 2020 and early 2021 before the fast-spreading Omicron strain was discovered at the end of November. Ticket sales in November were 60.5 percent below their pre-pandemic November 2019 level, marking an improvement on the 64.8 percent decline recorded a month earlier. “Unfortunately, governments over-reacted to the…

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s health ministry has suspended Umrah trips to Saudi Arabia for a month from Saturday (January 8), in light of the rising number of Omicron variant cases among returning Umrah pilgrims. During this period, the health ministry and other relevant authorities will be carrying out a risk assessment and updating the SOPs for umrah travelers, including making booster vaccines mandatory for all pilgrims in the future as well as monitoring their health status while they are in Saudi Arabia. According to the health minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, Omicron variant cases among Umrah pilgrims made up 64.08 per cent or…

PARIS: Global aviation major Airbus provisionally exceeded its target of 600 jet deliveries in 2021, with final totals depending on a still incomplete audit, reported Reuters, citing industry sources. Deliveries included a flurry of last-minute activity for A350 wide-bodied jets, for which demand has been slack as international travel remains dogged by the coronavirus crisis, stated the report. Deliveries of aircraft went down to the wire, with several handovers completed on Dec 31, according to specialist website Hamburg Finkenwerder News and flight-tracking data. This brings December’s tally for the long-haul jets to about a dozen, though almost half of those…

LAHORE: The Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab (TDCP) has started tour services for Kartarpur and South Punjab as part of efforts to highlight the glory of less popular tourist destinations of the province. The inauguration ceremony held on Sunday was attended by the Special Assistant to the Chief Minister, Hasaan Khawar, and senior officials of the corporation. Khawar expressed his best wishes for the first batch of tourists visiting Kartarpur and South Punjab. He also conveyed best wishes from Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and highlighted that with the special interest of Prime Minister Imran Khan and guidance of the…

DOHA: Qatar Airways has launched a global sale for UK customers as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. The carrier in fact began operations in early 1994, but considers 2022 to be its 25th birthday as the airline was relaunched in 1997 under the mandate of His Highness The Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Flights to London also commenced that year. Qatar Airways says that fares from the UK can be had from £359 return, with additional “special savings” on seat selection, extra baggage allowance, hotel bookings and car rental during a five-day period from January 4.…