DUBAI: Addressing delegates at Arabian Travel Market 2021 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dr Adam Wu, CEO, CBN Travel & MICE, which has offices in Beijing and London, said that China was ready for international travel – it has already opened its borders to 36 European and 13 Asian countries. Dr Wu was speaking via video link during a conference panel session on the opening day of the show, Sunday May 16 and confirmed that according to China’s civil aviation administration, a total of 105 airlines including 19 Chinese carriers, are now flying to 55 different countries, culminating in…
Author: holidayweekly
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has resumed its international flights through 43 international stations in 30 destinations, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The move comes after the Ministry of Interior’s decision to lift the suspension of citizens’ travel outside the Kingdom came into effect. Saudi Airlines confirmed that it will operate 153 scheduled flights every week from Riyadh, and 178 flights from Jeddah. Furthermore, the resumption of the first international flights departing from the Kingdom will be from Riyadh to Hyderabad, and from Jeddah to Dhaka. As for its first international…
CHRISTCHURCH: Air New Zealand’s charity has taken a special group of children on a mystery flight adventure. Koru Care, a charity established to give children with illnesses or disabilities the opportunity to see the world, took 50 children on a unique flight path around the centre of New Zealand today. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight, Registration ZK-NZE and flown by Chief Pilot Captain David Morgan, traced a Kiwi after it departed from Christchurch this morning towards the West Coast of New Zealand, looping around Taranaki then taking a few turns before landing back in Christchurch. Air New Zealand CEO Greg…
KARACHI: Tourism and hospitality sector has been suffering worldwide since the advent of Covid-19 early last year, bringing it practically to a halt with the continued spread of the Virus. Pakistan’s hospitality and tourism sector however, has been the worse hit as it was not flourishing to begin with, and with tourism at a complete standstill, the very survival of this sector is at stake. In a recent webinar conducted by FPCCI’s Central Standing Committee on Tourism Development with tourism and hospitality stakeholders and as the socio-economic crises of Covid-19 are far from over, the numerous problems are being faced…
LONDON: London’s Heathrow Airport has delayed the planned reopening of Terminal 3 due to “ongoing uncertainty” over rolling travel restrictions imposed by the UK government. T3, which was shuttered in April 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic made its first sweep around the world, was previously slated to welcome back selected airlines and passengers from May 17, with Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines among the first to return. That timeline has now been pushed back to at least the end of May, with early June also considered a realistic restart. “We are continuing to prepare for the restart of international…
LAHORE: To the extent of route (Derince-Kapikoy) originating and passing through its territory, Turkey has announced tariff /charges for Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad freight train. However, schedule for resumption of the train which is called ECO (Economic Cooperation Organisation) is yet to be agreed and finalised by Pakistan, Iran and Turkey due to various issues. According to a report submitted by the quarters concerned in the Turkish government (railways, foreign and logistic affairs) at a recent meeting held by the ECO secretariat virtually, the container tariff for export, import and transit had been set as 0.18 Euro per km and 0.23 Euro per…
ISTANBUL: In April 2021 Turkish Airlines resumed hot inflight meal service, after having very limited service for over a year. Now the airline is bringing back its popular inflight chefs. As of May 2021, Turkish Airlines’ inflight chefs are once again taking to the skies on flights of eight hours or longer. Turkish Airlines’ flying chefs work in business class on long haul flights and oversee the meal service. They do everything from welcoming passengers, to taking meal orders, to handling the preparation and presentation of meals. As Turkish Airlines’ Chairman of the Board, M. Ilker Ayci, explains the decision…
MANAMA: Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, announces the addition of two boutique summer destinations to its global network with Santorini and Mykonos in Greece. Both Santorini and Mykonos will be served by the airline’s new Airbus A320neo with two weekly flights each starting from 2 June until 22 September for Santorini and starting from 3 June until 30 September for Mykonos. The seasonal summer routes to the Greek islands will boost the airline’s network with popular boutique seaside destinations that are favourite to many tourists and families in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the region…
Visitors to Dracula’s castle are being jabbed with needles rather than fangs after a Covid-19 vaccine centre has been set up at the Transylvanian site. Medics with fang stickers on their scrubs are offering Pfizer shots to everyone who visits the 14th-century Bran Castle in central Romania. It is part of a government drive to encourage more Romanians to get jabbed. Some believe the castle inspired the vampire’s lair in Bram Stoker’s iconic novel Dracula. Romania has recorded just over a million infections since the pandemic began, and nearly 29,000 deaths. The country’s government says it wants to vaccinate 10…
RIYADH: In a major move, Saudi Arabia has granted permission to companies listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) to buy real estate in Makkah and Madinah. This comes following the approval from the Council of Ministers amending Article 5 of the Law of Real Estate Ownership and Investment by non-Saudis under which listed Saudi companies are exempted from the prohibition of non-Saudis owning real estate within the borders of Makkah and Madinah, reported Saudi Gazette. As per this law, a non-Saudi investor with a natural or corporate personality is licensed to practice any professional, vocational, or economic activity may…