MOSCOW: Russia’s daily COVID-19 mortality numbers have been surging for weeks and topped 1,000 for the first time during the weekend amid sluggish vaccination rates, lax public attitudes towards taking precautions, and the government’s reluctance to toughen restrictions. Russia reported 1,028 COVID deaths in 24 hours on October 20, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. The largest number of fatalities were reported in the country’s two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. There was also a rapid increase in the number of positive tests for the virus, with 34,073 people confirmed to have been infected over the…
Author: holidayweekly
LONDON: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) called for a simpler Covid-19 testing regime, with affordable, competitive airport costs, to help UK airlines speedup the recovery. Speaking at the UK Aviation Club, IATA Director General Willie Walsh emphasised theimportance of face-to-face meetings and the desire of travellers to get flying again. Still, he warned that by persisting with expensive PCR testing, the UK had failed tocapitalise on its fast rollout of Covid-19 vaccinations, and has slipped behind its mainEU partners. “In terms of day-to-day life, the UK is far more pragmatic in managing Covid-19 thanmany other states. But its approach…
LONDON: British Airways has announced that it is recruiting more cabin crew staff as the aviation sector recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline has asked a broad- range of people to apply for jobs to create a diverse crew workforce. Crew members will be able to earn up to £28,000 a year with flying/duty pay and a tax free subsistence allowance, as well as generous company benefits. The airline has already contacted people in the company’s existing talent pools, which holds the details of people who left the business last year but have expressed an interest in returning to…
KARACHI: PIA and Hitit, two of the world’s largest companies in their fields, are entering their third year of cooperation. The cooperation of these two companies has allowed the Pakistani aviation industry to grow technologically. In addition to their commercial partnership based on technology, Hitit and PIA work together on social responsibility. Pakistan International Airlines, one of the largest airlines in the Asia Pacific region, and its PSS provider Hitit, one of the leading airline and travel IT providers in the world, have been continuing their productive collaboration in every aspect. In this context, Hitit regularly contributes to the Pakistan…
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has achieved the International AirTransport Association (IATA’s) new distribution capability (NDC) level-4 certification.The certification is of the highest level, awarded to PIA. A press release issued by PIA on Monday stated that the national flag carrier recentlyembarked upon a Digital Transformation Programme, under which it is focusing onmodernising its business practices, resource competence, technology upgrade andpartner collaborations in line with new industry standards and practices. The certification will enable the airline to better connect, communicate and share richcontent among industry partners through distribution channels. This achievement willsignificantly enhance PIA’s capability of merchandising, retailing and productdifferentiation,…
BANGKOK: Thailand unveiled a roadmap to revive its tourism-reliant economy by gradually scrapping a mandatory quarantine for vaccinated visitors, joining a growing list of nations in making cross-border travel easier ahead of the year-end holiday season. Visitors from 10 low-risk countries including the U.S., China, Singapore, Germany and the U.K. will not be required to undergo isolation on arrival from November 1, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha said in an address to the nation on Monday. The list of travelers eligible for quarantine waiver will be further expanded from December, he said, and by January 1 the nation “would move to…
PESHAWAR: The Malaysian firm of international repute has presented a master plan for the development of four tourism zones in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to attract more tourists to the province. Briefing the participants at a workshop held here on Wednesday, AJM Planning and Urban Design Group (APUDG) Managing Director Norliza Hashim said that her firm had prepared a master plan for the four tourism zones including Mankial in Swat, Thandiani in Abbottabad, Ganol in Mansehra and Madaklasht in Lower Chitral. She said that map making, local planning, destination management plan, phase-wise infrastructure development andconstruction of roads leading to the tourist zones…
MUSCAT: Oman Air hopes to join the global Oneworld airline alliance, putting it alongside American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and more. The carrier has approached its regional neighbor Qatar Airways for assistance in getting aboard – a strategic move, given Qatar’s CEO is also currently Chairman of the Oneworld Governing Board. “As the industry recovers from COVID, airline alliances are going to be more important than ever,” an Oman Air spokesperson told. “This will provide us with excellent global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our guests.” If successful, Oman Air would be…
LONDON: The beautiful city of Lahore has been projected globally as 150 iconic red London buses go live with the ‘Lahore – The heart of Pakistan’ branding adorned on busy routes of London. The campaign has been launched to highlight the rich cultural heritage of Lahore and also to project Pakistan’s soft image of beauty and culture at a city like London which is known as the capital of the world as almost every nationality of the world has a strong presence in the city. The buses pass through busy areas of Westminster outside the UK Parliament, 10 Downing Street,…
NEW DELHI: India’s Tata Sons has won a competitive bid for acquiring the country’s flag carrier Air India, including its wholly-owned subsidiary Air India Express and 50% stake in Air India SATS, it was announced by the government. Tata group was the successful bidder of the divestment process of Air India, it said. The Tata group’s holding company, Tata Sons through its wholly-owned subsidiary Talace Pvt Ltd submitted a winning bid of Rs18,000 crore ($2.4 billion) as the enterprise value of Air India. SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh (in his private capacity) had also placed bids for the airline. Consequent to…