Emirates in rough waters over suspended flights to India flights, the main feeder and transit market for the Dubai based carrier. The airline may have contemplated government bailouts is the rumor.Emirates will resume flights between Dubai and Venice from 1 July According to HRH Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, CEO of Emirates, these flights will Increase trade and tourism connectivity between the UAE and Italy. The airline will also increase services to Milan from 8 to 10 weekly flights in July. This will comprise of a daily service on the Dubai-Milan-New York JFK route, and a 3-weekly return flights between Dubai and Milan. Together with Emirates’ 5 weekly flights to Rome and 3 weekly flights to Bologna, this will take the airline’s total services to Italy to 21 weekly flights to 4 cities in July. Emirates will serve Venice, Milan, Rome and Bologna with its modern and comfortable widebody Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Emirates’ expansion of flight services in Italy follows the start of “Covid-Tested flight”arrangements, which allow its passengers to travel to Italy without quarantine on arrival. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said: “We welcome the Covid-Tested flight arrangements and would like to thank the Italian and UAE authorities for their ongoing efforts to ease and facilitate international travel. The UAE has a strong and longstanding relationship with Italy and the safe return of air connectivity will help boost mutual trade and tourism. As a global commercial hub, and home to people from more than 200 nations, Dubai and the UAE have spared no effort to keep communities safe from the pandemic – from our world-leading vaccination programme to our bio-safety protocols across all sectors including recreation and entertainment facilities, to schools, businesses and airports. We hope that more countries will consider similar arrangements to facilitate quarantine-free travel.” Effective 2 June, Emirates customers travelling to Italy aged 2 years and above, are required to hold a negative COVID-19 PCR-RT or Rapid Antigen test result valid for 48 hours prior to departure. Travellers must also take a Rapid Antigen swab test on arrival in Italy, at their own cost. For more details on entry requirements to Italy, customers can check the travel requirements page on emirates.com. With missing connectivity between Dubai and many Indian cities, Emirates is in a difficult position with such missing transit travel. India has been hit by a strain of COVID-19 infections, promoting Emirates to suspend operation to this country of more than 1 billion people until June 30. Emirates remains focused on taking various steps to ease travel and has been a leader in introducing initiatives in cooperation with health authorities and organisations to protect the health of customers and to ensure their safety. Emirates introduced measures on the ground throughout all touchpoints and onboard to provide its passengers with the highest safety and hygiene standards at every step of the journey. The airline has also recently introduced contactless technologyto ease the customer journey through Dubai airport. Knowing their safety and wellbeing is looked after, customers across all classes can enjoy more than 4,500 channels of entertainment on ice, the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, along with regionally inspired gourmet meals. Emirates continues to lead the industry with innovative products and services that address traveller needs during a dynamic time. Recently the airline took its customer care initiatives further with even more generous and flexible booking policies, an extension of its multi-risk insurance cover, and helping loyal customers retain their miles and tier status.

2019 U.S-Belarus Air Services Agreement suspendedFAA recommended US air carriers to “exercise extreme caution” when flying in Belarusian airspaceThe actions of the Belarusian government were condemned worldwide as state-sponsored terrorism and air piracy. The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement announcing that the United States of America will suspend an air service agreement with Belarus following the state-sponsored hijacking of Ryanair plane. “The United States will suspend its discretionary application of the 2019 U.S-Belarus Air Services Agreement,” the statement said. Yesterday, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommended the US air carriers to “exercise extreme caution” when flying in the Belarusian airspace. The agency, however, stopped short of banning air carriers from entering the airspace of Belarus. On May 23, a Vilnius-bound Ryanair plane that took off from Athens was forced to land at Minsk International Airport after Belarusian authorities “reported” a fake bomb threat and scrambled A MiG-29 fighter jet to make sure the plane lands in Belarus. Immediately upon forced landing, Belarusian security agents arrested opposition journalist Roman Protasevich, one of the co-founders of the Nexta Telegram channel, and his companion, Russian national Sofia Sapega, who were among the passengers of Ryanair flight. Needless to say, no bomb was found inside the plane. The actions of the Belarusian government were condemned worldwide as state-sponsored terrorism and air piracy.

The India international travel ban has been extended for over another month until June 30, 2021. Since the international travel ban, limited flights have been allowed into India under various schemes.The Vande Bharat Mission brought home stranded Indians from foreign destinations after the coronavirus struck shutting off borders.Air travel bubble agreements have been signed with 27 countries around the globe. Initially, the international travel ban was implemented in India on March 23, 2020, when COVID-19 emerged around the globe. Since then, limited flights have been allowed into the country under various schemes including Vande Bharat Mission flights and air travel bubble agreements. The Vande Bharat Mission was started to bring back stranded Indians from foreign destinations after suspension of regular international flights. The Indian Government launched the Mission, considered to be the world’s largest expatriation exercise. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory body of civil aviation in the country, issued a statement today, Friday, May 28, 2021, that cargo flights and those with special permission will be allowed to operate but regular scheduled commercial services will continue to be suspended through the end of next month in June.

Belavia cancels its regular flights to Belgrade, SerbiaBelavia cancels its regular flights to Budapest, HungaryBelavia cancels its regular flights to Chisinau, Moldova Troubled Belarusian national flag carrier Belavia announced on its website today that it has canceled its regular flights to Belgrade, Serbia, Budapest, Hungary and Chisinau, Moldova from May 29 through June 30 (for the time being) because it had been banned by the European Union and Ukraine from using their airspace. “Due to the ban by EU and Ukrainian aviation authorities to use the airspace and the impossibility to perform flights, regular service to Belgrade, Budapest, Chisinau is suspended for the period from May 29, 2021, to June 30, 2021,” Belavia’s statement said. Belavia also said that it is “calculating possible route variants for regular and charter flights affected by the introduced restrictions in order to determine their viability.” The airline announced that in order to detour the airspace of several countries, regular flights to Istanbul and Larnaca would follow an altered schedule. Belavia also canceled all flights to Tallinn, Estonia from May 28 through August 28. On Monday, following Belarus state-sponsored hijacking of a Ryanair flight, EU leaders decided to block Belarusian airlines from landing at EU airports and flying over the EU, also advising European carriers to suspend flights in the country’s airspace. A number of countries have already closed their airspace to the Belarusian air carrier, including the UK, France, Latvia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia.

United Airlines’ Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist has been named airline’s newest Executive VPEnqvist has been in the airline industry for more than 25 years, joining Continental in 1996The promotion is effective immediately United announced today that Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist has been named the airline’s newest executive vice president. Enqvist was promoted yesterday by the United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Board of Directors. The promotion is effective immediately.  “Toby leads with the unwavering purpose of being United’s top customer advocate and this promotion reflects not only his success in caring for our customers but also our continuing commitment to delivering the best possible experience for all those we fly,” said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby.  “With Toby’s vision and direction, we are truly leading the industry in finding ways to innovate which is essential as we strive to become the best airline in the history of aviation.” As EVP and chief customer officer, Enqvist continues his oversight of the airline’s Inflight Services, Corporate Real Estate, Contact Centers and Customer Care, Customer Strategy and Innovation, and Customer Experience and Analytics. In addition, Enqvist is responsible for developing and providing United’s employees with the leadership support needed to best serve the airline’s customers. “I look forward to continuing to work alongside my talented and dedicated team to keep moving us forward with industry leading innovation that will offer our customers the best experience whenever and wherever they fly United,” said Enqvist. Enqvist has been in the airline industry for more than 25 years, joining Continental in 1996.  Throughout this career, he has held several senior leadership positions within operations and finance, including senior vice president of Network Operations and Customer Solutions for United. A native of Sweden, Enqvist moved to the U.S. to attend Ouachita Baptist University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration. He also holds an MBA degree from Southern Methodist University. He is married and has a daughter.

Airbus confirms an average A320 Family production rate of 45 aircraft per month in Q4 2021A330 production remains at an average monthly production rate of two per monthA350 current average production rate is five per month, expected to  increase to six by autumn 2022 Airbus continues to expect the commercial aircraft market to recover to pre-COVID levels between 2023 and 2025, led by the single-aisle segment. The Company is therefore providing suppliers with an update of its production plans, giving visibility in order to schedule necessary investments and secure long term capacity and production rate readiness, in line with the expected recovery. “The aviation sector is beginning to recover from the COVID-19 crisis”, said Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO. “The message to our supplier community provides visibility to the entire industrial ecosystem to secure the necessary capabilities and be ready when market conditions call for it. In parallel, we are transforming our industrial system by optimizing our aerostructures set-up and modernizing our A320 Family production facilities. All these actions are set in motion to prepare our future.” A320 Family: Airbus confirms an average A320 Family production rate of 45 aircraft per month in Q4 2021 and calls on suppliers to prepare for the future by securing afirm rate of 64 by Q2 2023. In anticipation of a continued recovering market, Airbus is also asking suppliers to enable a scenario of rate 70 by Q1 2024. Longer term, Airbus is investigating opportunities for rates as high as 75 by 2025. A220 Family: Currently at around rate five aircraft per month from Mirabel and Mobile, the rate is confirmed to rise to around six in early 2022. Airbus is also envisaging a monthly production rate of 14 by the middle of the decade. A350 Family: Currently at an average production rate of five per month, this is expected to  increase to six by autumn 2022.  A330 Family: Production remains at an average monthly production rate of two per month. Airbus is protecting its ability to further adapt as the market evolves.

The resumed service will operate once a week on Thursdays using Airbus A321 aircraftService between Atyrau and Amsterdam supplements the existing flight on Wednesdays between Atyrau to FrankfurtPassengers on these routes can connect with Air Astana partner airlines across Europe and North America Air Astana will resume direct flights from Atyrau in western Kazakhstan to Amsterdam on 3rd June 2021 following a suspension of a regular service due to restrictions introduced by the Dutch authorities earlier this year. The resumed service will operate once a week on Thursdays using Airbus A321 aircraft, with departure from Atyrau at 05:40 and arrival time in Amsterdam at 07:50 local time; and return flight departure from Amsterdam at 11:50 and arrival in Atyrau at 19:40. The outbound flight time is 5h10m and 4h 50m on the return to Atyrau. This service between Atyrau and Amsterdam supplements the existing flight on Wednesdays between Atyrau to Frankfurt. Passengers on these routes can connect with Air Astana partner airlines across Europe and North America. Passengers are advised to familiarize themselves in advance with entry and transit requirements for travel between Kazakhstan and the Netherlands at Air Astana’s website.

The change in the flight path must be approved by the authoritiesRussian officials refused to give their approval to Austrian AirlinesAs a result, Austrian Airlines was forced to cancel today’s flight from Vienna to Moscow Austrian Airlines has canceled today’s flight from Vienna to Moscow after Russia’s aviation authorities refused to accept Austrian Airlines’ alternative route bypassing Belarus airspace. “Austrian Airlines has suspended flights over Belarusian airspace until further notice based on the recommendation from the EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). For this reason, it is also necessary to adjust the flight route from Vienna to Moscow. The change in the flight path must be approved by the authorities. Russian officials did not give their approval to us. As a result, Austrian Airlines was forced to cancel today’s flight from Vienna to Moscow,” Austrian Airlines representative said responding to a request to comment on Thursday’s cancellation of a flight from Vienna to Moscow. On May 25, Austrian Airlines said that the air carrier decided to suspend flights through Belarusian airspace and circumvent Belarus in connection with the EU’s decision in the wake of Belarusian state-sponsored hijacking of a Ryanair plane in Belarus on May 23. The flight from Vienna to Moscow, scheduled for May 27, was not supposed to fly over Belarus. On May 26, the Austrian Ministry of Transport said that the EASA issued a security information bulletin in which European airlines were advised to avoid Belarusian airspace. On Wednesday, Air France also had to cancel a flight from Paris to Moscow after Russia refused to approve the route avoiding Belarusian airspace.

Flights will initially operate Saturdays and Mondays and as of June 17 will operate Sundays and Thursdays.Passengers with a full vaccination certificate are exempt from negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test, if vaccinated at least 14 days before entry.Other passengers welcome by submitting negative PCR-RT COVID-19 test taken up to 5 days before their trip, applying online for a Health Visa, and completing a daily health questionnaire. As of June 5, Copa Airlines restarts flights from Panama, connecting with the main cities of Latin America, to Nassau, Bahamas. The flights will initially operate Saturdays and Mondays and as of June 17 will operate Sundays and Thursdays. “At Copa Airlines we are pleased to announce that on June 5, we will resume our regular operation to Nassau with 2 flights per week, so that tourists can enjoy wonderful days of rest and experience unforgettable holidays in The Bahamas, since this destination offers a lot of experiences, and each island has its own appeal, with beautiful landscapes, gastronomy and sandy beaches immensely white,” said Christophe Didier, Copa Airlines’ vice-president of Global Sales. As of May 1, passengers with a full vaccination certificate (including the second dose, if applicable) for Covid-19 of AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech immunizers are exempt from the negative PCR-RT COVID-19 tests requirement, as long as they have been vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entry into The Bahamas.

Philip previously served as the chief operating officer of Partners in HealthPhilip has served as a United board member since 2016Philip brings nearly three decades of corporate leadership across several industries United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL) today announced that Edward “Ted” Philip will assume the role of non-executive chairman of the board of directors. Philip has served as a United board member since 2016, and as lead director since May 2020. Philip brings nearly three decades of corporate leadership across several industries. “Ted’s storied career and leadership across the finance, technology and healthcare sectors have made him an invaluable member of the United board. His insights and financial expertise will be critical as we look ahead to United’s ‘return to new’ and focus on becoming the global leader in aviation,” said United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. “I also want to express my gratitude to Oscar for his leadership and the groundwork he laid that enabled United to persevere through the most disruptive crisis in our history. He will be missed by the entire United team.” Philip succeeds Oscar Munoz, who has served as executive chairman of the board of directors since May 2020, when he assumed the role and committed to serving in it for one year. Philip previously served as the chief operating officer of Partners in Health, a global non-profit healthcare organization providing medical services to people in underserved communities around the world. Prior to joining Partners in Health, Philip served as managing general partner at Highland Consumer Fund. He was also one of the founding members of the internet search company, Lycos, Inc. During his tenure with Lycos, Philip held the positions of president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at different times. Before joining Lycos, he spent time as the vice president of finance for The Walt Disney Company and several years in investment banking. “I’m honored to be named non-executive chairman of United and am looking forward to continuing to work with the strongest leadership team in the industry,” Philip said. “I am eager to work with the United team to deliver value to all of our key stakeholders, and I thank Oscar for his leadership, especially his tremendous contributions this past year as executive chairman, and throughout his successful tenure as CEO.” Philip currently serves on the board of directors of Hasbro, Inc. and BRP, Inc. Mr. Philip received a Bachelor of Science in economics and mathematics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Slow travel mainly refers to the speed of which a trip is takeSlow travel also means tourists staying longer, connecting with local people, culture, food and musicSustainability is also at the forefront of consumers’ decisions Pent-up demand for immersive travel experiences with no set time limit could help ‘slow travel’ become the next big tourism trend. With tourists opting for longer stays due to many being able to work remotely, and sustainability featuring more heavily in travel decisions, it is clear that slow travel could be a global phenomenon in the next few years. Slow travel mainly refers to the speed of which a trip is taken, where travelers take a train through Europe instead of flying, for example. However, it also has a broader meaning of tourists staying in destinations for longer, emphasizing a connection with local people, culture, food and music. This means that slow travel is also more sustainable for local communities and the environment. Various consumer trends already suggest that slow travel could take off post-pandemic. A trip longer than ten nights is more highly desired (22%) than a day visit (10%) or short break away from one to three nights (14%) according to the latest industry poll. The added hassle and cost of additional COVID-19 related travel requirements such as PCR tests and potential quarantine periods means that short trips lose value, justifying a longer trip. There is also a larger remote workforce across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 70% of global respondents opted to work remotely full time or have a mixture of both remote and office work in another poll. Many offices are likely to be more flexible regarding working hours and the location of an employee as a result of the pandemic, meaning blending work and leisure will be easier for employees. Sustainability is also at the forefront of consumers’ decisions. ‘Supporting social causes’ was identified as a key driver in product purchases for 25% of global respondents in the industry’s 2021 consumer survey and for 45% this was ‘nice to have’. Preference for products can reflect on service trends and this identifies that consumers may feel more inclined to support local communities post-pandemic, which is a gap that ‘slow travel’ can fill. Competition is already intensifying between both niche and major travel intermediaries, suggesting that slow travel is sure to make its mark in post-pandemic travel. Travel intermediaries that offer ‘slow travel’ holidays range from niche operators such as Intrepid Travel and Responsible Travel to more mainstream providers such as Airbnb and Expedia Group. This niche trend reflects consumers’ growing desire for more experiential forms of travel, going above and beyond the hordes of tourists gathered for sun, sea and sand. Its potential growth could further rival the concept of mass tourism and the all-inclusive package holiday concept in travel’s recovery post COVID-19.

Only 4,564 visitors traveled to Hawaii in April 2020Visitor arrivals in April 2021 were down 43.0 percent from the April 2019 countVisitor spending was down 38.4 percent from $1.32 billion spent in April 2019 According to preliminary statistics released by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA), a total of 484,071 visitors arrived by air service to the Hawaiian Islands in April 2021, compared to only 4,564 visitors who traveled to Hawaii in April 2020 when tourism to the islands virtually ceased due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Total spending for visitors arriving in April 2021 was $811.4 million. Prior to the pandemic, Hawaii experienced record-level visitor expenditures and arrivals in 2019 and in the first two months of 2020. When compared to 2019, visitor arrivals in April 2021 were down 43.0 percent from the April 2019 count of 849,397 visitors (air and cruise), and visitor spending was down 38.4 percent from the $1.32 billion spent in April 2019. April 2020 was the first full month of travel restrictions to keep the community safe, following the State of Hawaii’s 14-day mandatory travel quarantine for all passengers (effective March 26, 2020). During this time, exemptions included travel for essential reasons like work or health care. The state’s four counties enforced strict stay-at-home orders and curfews in April. Nearly all trans-Pacific flights and interisland flights were cancelled. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) enforced a “No Sail Order” on all cruise ships. On October 15, 2020, the State initiated the Safe Travels program, which then allowed trans-Pacific travelers to bypass the quarantine if they had a valid negative test for COVID-19. A year later in April 2021, the Safe Travels program was still underway, with most passengers arriving from out-of-state and traveling inter-county able to bypass the State’s mandatory 10-day self-quarantine with a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT test result from a Trusted Testing Partner prior to departure. Kauai County rejoined the Safe Travels program on April 5, 2021. The counties of Hawaii, Maui and Kalawao (Moloka‘i) also had a partial quarantine in place in April. The CDC continued reduced restrictions through a “Conditional Sail Order” on all cruise ships. In April 2021, 352,147 visitors (versus 3,016 visitors in April 2020) arrived from the U.S. West and 119,189 visitors (versus 1,229 in April 2020) were from the U.S. East. In addition, 1,367 visitors (versus 13 visitors in April 2020) came from Japan and 527 visitors (versus nine visitors in April 2020) were from Canada. There were 10,842 visitors (versus 298 in April 2020) from All Other International Markets. Many of these visitors were from Guam, and a small number of visitors were from Other Asia, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, Philippines and Pacific Islands. U.S. West visitors spent $573.2 million. U.S. East visitors spent $233.7 million. Visitors from Japan spent $4.5 million. Visitor spending data from other markets were not available. A total of 3,614 trans-Pacific flights serviced the Hawaiian Islands in April, compared to 426 flights a year ago. This represented a total of 727,980 air seats, up from 95,985 seats. There were significantly more scheduled seats from U.S. West (623,611, +703.7%) and U.S. East (80,172, +3,646.4%). Air service from Japan (8,798 seats, +1,082.5%), Other Asia (2,224 seats, +920.2%) and Canada (716 seats, none in April 2020) remained limited but there were more scheduled seats compared to a year ago. There continued to be no direct air service from Oceania. Scheduled seats from Other countries (Guam, Manila, Majuro) decreased (8,589, -10.4%).

Spirit Airlines launches Tampa flights from LouisvilleSpirit Airlines launches Fort Myers route from LouisvilleSpirit flight 1227 will be airline’s first departure from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport Louisville lit up the sky in yellow to signal that Spirit Airlines was on its way, and now Spirit’s bright yellow planes are touching down for the first time as the airline celebrates its inaugural flight. The first landing is a milestone years in the making, but Spirit Airlines is taking the festivities a step further by announcing the addition of two new, nonstop routes from the Derby City to Tampa (TPA) and Fort Myers (RSW) on Florida’s Gulf Coast starting later this year.  “It’s a beautiful day when we get to bring the best value in the sky to a vibrant city like Louisville and announce plans for even More Go on day one,” said John Kirby, Vice President of Network Planning for Spirit Airlines. “I’ve seen so much enthusiasm across the whole Spirit Team as we prepared to welcome Guests onboard in Louisville, and we’re off to a great start serving this incredible community. We look forward to everyone experiencing our unbeatable combination of service, reliability, new planes and low fares when they take their next trip.” Spirit flight 1227 will be the airline’s first departure from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF). Plans call for it to leave under a water cannon salute with nonstop service to Fort Lauderdale. The rest of the day’s schedule calls for flights to and from Orlando, Las Vegas and Los Angeles with service to Pensacola following in June. Thursday’s announcement means SDF travelers will be able to catch nonstop flights to seven cities—and connections throughout the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean—while enjoying Spirit’s famous low fares, Signature Service and on-time performance. “When Spirit first announced they were coming to Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport, we said it was a great day, and it keeps getting better. Spirit is a fantastic addition to our community, and we appreciate the continued investment with two new, convenient nonstop routes since their initial announcement,” said Dan Mann, Executive Director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. “We look forward to a vibrant future with even more options for more travelers to visit our city, along with additional opportunities to travel around the country and the world.” Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas and Orlando are three of Spirit’s biggest cities, which means nonstop flights from SDF come with easy connections throughout the United States. Fort Lauderdale is also Spirit’s largest gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, providing access to 16 countries. Flights from Louisville (SDF)Destination:Flights Available:Launch Date:Fort Lauderdale (FLL)DailyMay 27, 2021Las Vegas (LAS)DailyMay 27, 2021Los Angeles (LAX)DailyMay 27, 2021Orlando (MCO)DailyMay 27, 2021Pensacola (PNS)3X WeeklyJune 10, 2021Fort Myers (RSW) NEW4X WeeklyNov. 17, 2021Tampa (TPA) NEW3X WeeklyNov. 18, 2021

Qatar Airways will be increasing frequencies to Boston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and SeattleQatar Airways offers 12 gateways connecting seamlessly with hundreds of domestic destinations via its strategic partners and onwards globallyHamad International Airport is the only 5-Star COVID-19 Safety Rated Airport in the Middle East Qatar Airways’ resumption of four-weekly Atlanta flights on 1 June marks the full return of the airline’s pre-pandemic U.S. network increasing its gateways to 12, two more than it operated before COVID-19. The airline will also be increasing frequencies to Boston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle offering more flexible travel options for its passengers with more than 85 weekly flights across the United States. These increased services will provide enhanced connectivity to several of the airline’s global leisure destinations including Cape Town, Maldives, Seychelles and Zanzibar, along with other key traffic flows in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Qatar Airways has remained committed to its passengers and trade partners in the United States, maintaining continuous services while rebuilding its U.S. network and launching two new destinations – San Francisco and Seattle. We have also strengthened our presence in the U.S. through strategic partnerships with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue that have enabled us to connect to more points in the United States than any other airline, providing U.S. travelers the most convenient way to travel internationally this summer. “As more of our passengers return to the skies, they can take comfort knowing that they are travelling with the only airline in the world that has, together with our state-of-the-art global hub Hamad International Airport, achieved four 5-Star Skytrax ratings – including the prestigious 5-Star Airline Rating, 5-Star Airport Rating, 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. We are proud to have lead the industry during this difficult period, setting the benchmark for innovation, safety and customer service, and look forward to welcoming our customers back on board as they plan their summer travels.” Americas Network Enhancements: Atlanta – Four weekly flights resuming 1 JuneBoston – Increasing to four weekly flights from 3 JulyMiami – Increasing to five weekly flights from 7 JulyNew York – Increasing to double daily flights from 21 JulyPhiladelphia – Increasing to five weekly flights from 2 JulySao Paulo – Increasing to double daily flights from 6 AugustSan Francisco – Increasing to daily flights from 2 JulySeattle – Increasing to daily flights from 8 July

Space travel’s extremely high price point that could impact its viability beyond the short-termSpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have a target market which consists of roughly 0.7% of the global populationThere could be a lack of demand after the initial rush for tickets has been satisfied While 2021 is set to be a breakthrough year for commercial space travel, the viability of this hyper-premiumized and ultra-exclusive experience remains unknown. The concept of commercial space travel is no doubt exciting, and this is reflected by high demand for the extremely limited capacity available for upcoming voyages into – and on the edge of – space. Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft Unity has garnered 600 reservations for tickets on future voyages, sold at prices between US$200,000 and US$250,000. Additionally, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is currently open for bids for a seat on its New Shepard flight in 2021, with the highest bid currently US$2.8m (as of 20 May 2021). It is actually space travel’s extremely high price point that could impact its viability beyond the short-term. Until companies such as SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin can scale their technology to make it accessible to non-millionaires, these companies will have a target market which consists of roughly 0.7% of the global population. When considering that many high-net-worth individuals will find the idea of space travel too alienating, this minute percentage will decrease even further. This means that there could be a lack of demand after the initial rush for tickets has been satisfied. Scaling the technology to increase accessibility will be a hurdle in years to come. Initially, space transportation companies will gain a competitive edge through differentiation rather than price. For example, length of trip, service, comfort, and viewpoints will decide which company will lead in the space travel industry in the short-term. However, when the growth stagnates in the luxury market, these companies will have to make their offerings more affordable. One way of doing this is through collaboration and consolidation, but with high profile business magnates at the helm of the most talked about space travel companies, this seems unlikely. The impact of the pandemic on the global economy could also negatively affect the viability of space travel. According to latest data, gross disposable income dropped by 4.3% year-on-year (YOY) in the US in 2020, which is the nation with the most millionaires. This shows that even luxury consumers from wealthy nations may have to refrain from premiumized experiences in the coming years as their financial positions have weakened. The buzz around space travel is understandable. A combination of experiencing world-class engineering in motion and the Earth from a bird’s-eye view will be highly sought after in the short-term. However, demand could stagnate as the years go by if price does not decrease and scaling issues are not addressed.

Russia refused to approve new route avoiding Belarusian airspaceAir France Flight AF1155 from Moscow to Paris was cancelled as wellAir France had offered passengers to choose a new travel date or to get a refund for the cancelled flight French flag carrier Air France announced to day that it has cancelled its scheduled flight from Paris to Moscow after Russian authorities refused to approve the route that would allow French airline to avoid Belarusian airspace. According to Air France’s spokesperson, Flight AF1154 was cancelled “for operational reasons linked to the bypassing of Belarusian airspace, requiring a new authorization from the Russian authorities to enter their territory.” Air France added that Flight AF1155 from Moscow to Paris was cancelled as well. French carrier said that it had offered passengers to choose a new travel date or to get a refund for the cancelled flight. According to some reports, Air France still “planned to run its next scheduled Moscow flight on Friday, subject to Russian approval of a flight plan that would allow it to avoid overflying Belarus.” After Belarus hijacked a Ryanair jetliner, the European Union leaders banned Belarusian airlines from all EU airports and EU airspace and called on all European airlines to avoid Belarusian airspace. A passenger jet belonging to Ryanair, an Irish low-cost airline, performing a flight from Athens to Vilnius on May 23 was forced to make a landing at Minsk International Airport after Belarusian security forces staged a fake bomb threat under and dispatched MiG-29 fighter jet to force Irish passenger airliner to land in Belarus. Upon landing in Minsk, Belarusian security agents searched the plane and its passengers and arrested an independent journalist and a co-founder of Nexta Telegram channel Roman Protasevich, who had been among the flight’s passengers. He was immediately detained by Belarusian KGB agents and transported to Minsk’s notorious central Detention Center No. 1, famous for brutal torture of the opponents of the country’s brutal regime.

Finland bans Belavia airline from its airspacePermit for flights of state-owned Belarusian Belavia to Finland revoked These measures followed the hijacking of the Ryanair’s passenger jet by Belarus on May 23 Finnish transport and communications agency (Traficom) announced today that is had revoked Belarusian Belavia airline’s permit for flights to Finland. “Traficom canceled the permit for flights of state-owned Belarusian company Belavia to Finland,” the regulator said. According to Finland’s regulator, such decision was made based on the Traficom’s assessment that “Belarus cannot support air traffic and passenger safety in its [air] space”. The European Union summit held on Monday announced the ban on flights of Belarusian air carriers to EU airports and over the EU airspace and advised all European carriers to refrain from flights in Belarusian airspace. These measures followed the hijacking of the Ryanair passenger jet by Belarus on May 23.

66% would like to have their airline, hotel, or travel company in their phone contacts, jumping to 81% among those 18 to 2358% would like to have a direct line to their airline, hotel, or travel company on social media, with those 18 to 23 landing at 68%66% would like the option to message when they go to their airline, hotel, or travel company’s website, reaching 76% among those 18 to 23 A survey of 2,000 Americans found that nearly three-fourths of consumers (73%) prefer messaging to calls when making airline, hotel, or other travel-related reservations. Among 18- to 23-year-olds, the number reaches a whopping 90%. According to the April 2021 survey, messaging options — including SMS, WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, Facebook Messenger, and brand websites and apps — are viewed as a convenient, preferred method for travelers to engage with their favorite travel brands.  Nearly as many (71%) are comfortable having their airline, hotel, or travel company reach out and text them directly, especially if deals or upgrades are on offer. This number increases to 80% among 18- to 23-year-olds, underscoring an advantage for brands that offer messaging to this coveted demographic and deliver on the type of services that will help future-proof the travel industry. Additional findings from the survey include: 66% would like to have their airline, hotel, or travel company in their phone contacts, jumping to 81% among those 18 to 2358% would like to have a direct line to their airline, hotel, or travel company on social media, with those 18 to 23 landing at 68%66% would like the option to message when they go to their airline, hotel, or travel company’s website, reaching 76% among those 18 to 23 Delta is leading the way in messaging experiences for travelers by empowering them to begin conversations with Delta directly from Apple Business Chat, SMS, the Fly Delta app, IVR deflection, and even QR codes within airports. These conversations allow customers to engage with the airline quickly and easily. Delta also uses the power of conversational AI to support its agents and help more customers faster than ever, as well as its in-message payment capabilities to help customers book travel and make purchases without ever leaving the conversation. Delta held 2.45 million conversations on Conversational Cloud in 2020, with 925,000 conversations assisted by AI. Of those AI-orchestrated conversations, 37% were fully handled by a blend of brand-built bots and conversational AI. Customer satisfaction scores for these experiences were extremely high (92 CSAT). Delta also plans to use the Conversational Cloud to engage with customers over Facebook Messenger and Twitter DMs. With 90% of young Americans reporting they prefer to message with travel companies, it’s clear that the future of travel will be dominated by brands that adopt and scale messaging experiences for sales, marketing, and customer care.

Ash plume from the Great Sitkin volcano eruption was as high as 15,000ft (4,600m)The eruption had been preceded by increased volcanic-seismic unrest over the previous 24 hoursThe volcano has had a few short-lived eruptions over the past 100 years The US Geological Survey (USGS) issued a statement today announcing that volcanic activity on Great Sitkin Island had been confirmed by geophysical data. The volcano started erupting at 9:04pm on Tuesday, with an explosion that lasted a couple of minutes, and was continuing to erupt at the time of its latest update.  The eruption prompted the USGS and the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) to issue a joint ‘red warning’ to aviation after observations suggested the ash plume from the Great Sitkin volcano eruption was as high as 15,000ft (4,600m). “Since that explosion, seismicity has decreased, and satellite images show that the ash cloud has detached from the vent and is moving towards the east,” the Alaska Volcano Observatory said in the latest update.  A number of photos on social media, some unverified, appear to show the ash cloud suspended over the sea and a number of remote islands. One image (featured), probably taken from the community of Adak, approximately 26 miles (43km) west of the volcano, highlights the size of the discharge. The eruption had been preceded by increased volcanic-seismic unrest over the previous 24 hours, and elevated surface temperatures and sulfur dioxide had been detected over the past week. Great Sitkin is one of the Aleutian Islands, most of which belong to the US state of Alaska. The volcano, of which there are many among the Aleutian Islands, has had a few short-lived eruptions over the past 100 years, the latest being small steam explosions in 2019. 

In 2021 global passenger numbers are expected to recover to 52% of pre-COVID-19 levelsIn 2023 global passenger numbers are expected to surpass pre-COVID-19 levelsBy 2030 global passenger numbers are expected to have grown to 5.6 billion The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Tourism Economics released a long-term view for post-COVID-19 passenger demand recovery which demonstrates that people remain eager to travel in the short and long-term. To ensure that aviation can sustainably deliver its social and economic benefits as it meets this long-term demand, it is critical that governments step-up their support for more efficient operations and foster an effective energy transition. Forecast highlights include  In 2021 global passenger numbers are expected to recover to 52% of pre-COVID-19 levels (2019)In 2022 global passenger numbers are expected to recover to 88% of pre-COVID-19 levelsIn 2023 global passenger numbers are expected to surpass pre-COVID-19 levels (105%)By 2030 global passenger numbers are expected to have grown to 5.6 billion. That would be 7% below the pre-COVID-19 forecast and an estimated loss of 2-3 years of growth due to COVID-19Beyond 2030 air travel is expected to slow, due to weaker demographics and a baseline assumption of limited market liberalization, giving average annual growth between 2019 and 2039 of 3.2%. IATA’s pre-COVID-19 growth forecast for this period was 3.8% The recovery in passenger numbers is slightly stronger than the recovery in demand measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), which is expected to grow by an annual average of 3% between 2019 and 2039. This is owing to the expected strength of domestic markets like China with large passenger numbers and shorter distances. “I am always optimistic about aviation. We are in the deepest and gravest crisis in our history. But the rapidly growing vaccinated population and advancements in testing will return the freedom to fly in the months ahead. And when that happens, people are going to want to travel. The immediate challenge is to reopen borders, eliminate quarantine measures and digitally manage vaccination/testing certificates. At the same time, we must assure the world that aviation’s long-term growth prospects are supported with an unwavering commitment to sustainability. Both challenges require governments and industry to work in partnership. Aviation is ready. But I don’t see governments moving fast enough,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Pre-COVID-19, passengers, on average, spent about 1.5 hours in travel processes for every journeyCurrent data indicates that airport processing times have ballooned to 3.0 hours Without process improvements, the time spent in airport processes could reach 5.5 hours per trip The International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned of potential airport chaos unless governments move quickly to adopt digital processes to manage travel health credentials (COVID-19 testing and vaccine certificates) and other COVID-19 measures. The impacts will be severe: Pre-COVID-19, passengers, on average, spent about 1.5 hours in travel processes for every journey (check-in, security, border control, customs, and baggage claim)Current data indicates that airport processing times have ballooned to 3.0 hours during peak time with travel volumes at only about 30% of pre-COVID-19 levels. The greatest increases are at check-in and border control (emigration and immigration) where travel health credentials are being checked mainly as paper documentsModelling suggests that, without process improvements, the time spent in airport processes could reach 5.5 hours per trip at 75% pre-COVID-19 traffic levels, and 8.0 hours per trip at 100% pre-COVID-19 traffic levels “Without an automated solution for COVID-19 checks, we can see the potential for significant airport disruptions on the horizon. Already, average passenger processing and waiting times have doubled from what they were pre-crisis during peak time—reaching an unacceptable three hours. And that is with many airports deploying pre-crisis level staffing for a small fraction of pre-crisis volumes. Nobody will tolerate waiting hours at check-in or for border formalities. We must automate the checking of vaccine and test certificates before traffic ramps-up. The technical solutions exist. But governments must agree digital certificate standards and align processes to accept them. And they must act fast,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. Over the past two decades air travel has been reinvented to put passengers in control of their journeys through self-service processes. This enables travelers to arrive at the airport essentially “ready to fly”. And with digital identity technology, border control processes are also increasingly self-service using e-gates. Paper-based COVID-19 document check would force travelers back to manual check-in and border control processes that are already struggling even with low volumes of travelers. Solutions If Governments require COVID-19 health credentials for travel, integrating them into already automated processes is the solution for a smooth restart.  This would need globally recognized, standardized, and interoperable digital certificates for COVID-19 testing and vaccine certificates.

Flights for the summer will run 2 times a week between San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Anguilla,The Anguilla Tourist Board will be partnering with stakeholders on island and with travel advisors in-market to promote the air service.Resuming these flights is an important step in reopening Anguilla to international travel. The summer flights will operate twice weekly between the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport in Anguilla through August 6, 2021. Silver Airways is the parent company of Seaborne Airlines. Seaborne has operated in Anguilla for many years.   “I am proud to have been a part of the initial negotiations with Seaborne Airlines in 2014 that culminated in regular service to Anguilla. We are delighted to welcome Silver Airways to Anguilla after this lengthy hiatus caused by the pandemic,” said the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Mr. Haydn Hughes. “Silver/Seaborne has been our valued partner for many years, and the San Juan gateway is vital to the growth of our industry. Maintaining and expanding access to Anguilla is essential for tourism development, and the restoration of this service is an important step as we reopen our island to international travelers,” he continued. “We are honored to service Anguilla, which has long been one of our most popular routes,” declared Captain Steven Dowda, Vice President of Caribbean Operations for Silver Airways and Seaborne Airlines. “Anguilla’s tourism product is exceptional, and our relationship with Anguilla is a strong and mutually beneficial one. We look forward to working closely with our tourism partners here to grow arrivals to the island and increase service this winter.” The Silver Airways service will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays, with two rotations each day for a total of four flights per week.

Málaga is a firm favorite with holidaymakers around the worldSpain has always been a strategically important country for Qatar AirwaysMálaga became the third Spanish destination for Qatar Airways network in June 2018 The key holiday destination of Málaga returns to Qatar Airways’ route network as Spain begins to ease travel restrictions for tourists. Málaga is a firm favorite with holidaymakers around the world, and fully vaccinated travelers will soon be able to visit once again with Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “As the world begins to open  up again, we at Qatar Airways stand ready to take the lead in supporting the global economic and social recovery as demonstrated by our support for tourism in Spain. Spain has always been a strategically important country for our airline, as reflected by our deep partnership with Iberia and steady rebuild of our Spain network. “Our global network continues to rebuild and expand even in these challenging times.  Passengers booking with Qatar Airways can do so with complete confidence that they can make changes to their booking should factors outside their control disrupt their travel plans.” Málaga is a beautiful and cosmopolitan city nestled along Spain’s Costa del Sol in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. The city offers a wide variety of activities for visitors to enjoy, such as exploring the historic Roman fort, basking on one of Málaga’s wonderful Mediterranean beaches or visiting one of its many museums. Many travelers also combine a trip to Malaga with a visit to the Southern Spain hotspots of Marbella and Puerto Banus. Málaga became the third Spanish destination for Qatar Airways network in June 2018 and will be served by flights on Friday and Sunday from Doha, utilizing one of the airline’s modern, sustainable and young Airbus A350-900 aircraft with seating for 36 in Business Class and 247 in Economy Class. The seasonal service will operate from 2 July to 12 September. Qatar Airways operates a total of 19 weekly flights to and from Spain, with daily Barcelona flights, ten weekly Madrid flights and the soon to resume two weekly Málaga flights. Qatar Airways recently expanded its strategic partnership with fellow oneworld member, Iberia. The expanded commercial cooperation will increase the number of destinations available to Iberia passengers from 29 to 36 on Qatar Airways’ network, including new destinations in Angola, Australia, Mozambique, New Zealand and South Africa. Qatar Airways passengers will also benefit from additional connectivity, with the ability to book travel to and from an additional four destinations on Iberia’s network in Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and Senegal.  As oneworld alliance partners, Qatar Airways Privilege Club and Iberia Plus members are ensured recognition of their tier status with benefits including access to lounges worldwide, through check-in, extra baggage allowance, priority check-in and boarding plus accrual and redemption of miles, across the partner carriers’ networks. Málaga schedule starting 2 July (Friday and Sunday): Doha (DOH) to Malaga (AGP) QR 155 departs 08:00 arrives 14:40 Malaga (AGP) to Doha (DOH) QR 156 departs 15:55 arrives 23:55

Irish ultra-low-cost carrier relaunches flights from Budapest AirportIt is crucial that flights and customers return to Budapest as soon as possibleReturn of Ryanair’s connections to popular destinations is a hugely positive sign for the airport and for the airlines Budapest Airport marks the return of significant links with Ryanair as the ultra-low-cost carrier (ULCC) relaunches flights to Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, and the Canary Islands all in one week. Initially returning with a total of six-weekly flights, the Irish carrier will boost the Hungarian gateway’s frequency up to 19-weekly operations by July – Barcelona, five-times weekly; Berlin, six-times weekly; Brussels, daily; and Las Palmas, weekly. “The return of Ryanair’s connections to these popular destinations is a hugely positive sign for all – for the airport, for the airlines and, ultimately, for our passengers,” explains Balázs Bogáts, Head of Airline Development, Budapest Airport. “It is crucial that flights and customers return to Budapest as soon as possible, and with the return of such links as Ryanair’s we are looking forward to a summer of revival.” Ryanair DAC is an Irish ultra low-cost airline founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, with its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family of airlines, and has Ryanair UK, Buzz, and Malta Air as sister airlines. Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, formerly known as Budapest Ferihegy International Airport and still commonly called just Ferihegy, is the international airport serving the Hungarian capital city of Budapest, and by far the largest of the country’s four commercial airports. 

The Airline offers direct connections from São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Porto Alegre to Nassau, and The Bahamas.Travelers staying 14 days or more in The Bahamas can return through the United States, provided they comply with all protocols and visa requirements of the country.The Bahamas follows strict health and safety protocols, in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19 among visitors and residents. “At Copa Airlines, we are excited to offer alternatives for Brazilian tourists to reach the Islands of The Bahamas. We believe that in Nassau you can enjoy wonderful days of rest and live an unforgettable holiday, thanks to its wide range of different experiences, ready to be discovered. In addition, each island in The Bahamas has its own attractions, with beautiful landscapes, gastronomy and immensely white sandy beaches,” said Christophe Didier, Vice President of Sales at Copa Airlines. Travelers staying 14 days or more in The Bahamas can return through the United States, provided they comply with all protocols and visa requirements of the country. Some hotels and resorts in The Bahamas are offering special promotions for those staying more than 14 days, such as Grand Isle in The Exumas and Margaritaville Resort in Nassau. This opportunity is ideal for tourists who plan on a long vacation in The Bahamas or want to continue on to the United States. “In The Islands of The Bahamas, there are countless opportunities for that long-awaited dream vacation, and the warm, hospitable people of The Bahamas look forward to welcoming visitors from Brazil. Resorts, hotels and other tourism related companies follow strict health and safety protocols, which have been implemented to ensure our visitors a safe, carefree, enjoyable vacation experience,” said the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, the Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation.

FAA action pertains only to AFAC, and this is not an assessment of Mexican carriersVolaris’ safety profile remains unchanged and is in line with best industry standards from both safety and security standpointsVolaris’ codeshare partner Frontier will remove its code from flights operated by Volaris Controladora Vuela Compañía de Aviación, S.A.B. de C.V. (Volaris) – an ultra-low-cost airline serving Mexico, the United States of America and Central America, informs that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America (FAA) has today determined that the safety oversight applied by Mexican Federal Civil Aviation Authority (AFAC) does not fully adhere to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards and has downgraded the country’s safety rating from Category 1 to Category 2. Under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program, the FAA audits peer aviation authorities to determine whether their oversight programs comply with ICAO annexes. The FAA action pertains only to AFAC, and this is not an assessment of Mexican carriers. Volaris‘ safety profile remains unchanged and we believe it is in line with best industry standards from both safety and security standpoints. Volaris is committed to the safety of our passengers. Current Volaris services will remain in place. However, during the period in which AFAC addresses the FAA findings, new services and routes cannot be added, and Volaris will be unable to add new aircraft to its FAA operations specifications. However, Volaris’ fleet may continue to grow, as the FAA action does not limit Volaris from incorporating any additional aircraft into its Mexican Air Operators Certificate, nor does it preclude Volaris from deploying such aircraft to Mexican and Central American markets. Additionally, our codeshare partner Frontier will remove its code from flights operated by Volaris, although customers will still have the option to purchase flights from Volaris and Frontier through the companies’ websites. Volaris understands that AFAC has been working closely with the FAA to remedy any technical or regulatory issues. Volaris will support the efforts of both regulatory authorities with the objective of restoring Mexico’s safety rating to Category 1.

Emirates will be celebrating Jordan’s 75th Independence Day in style this yearCustomers checking in to their Emirates flights at Queen Alia International Airport will find patriotic designs across their ticket sleevesEmirates today operates a daily flights between Amman and Dubai utilizing the iconic A380 Emirates has revealed that it will be celebrating Jordan’s 75th Independence Day in style this year, as the country marks its milestone anniversary. Customers boarding their Emirates flights from 24-26 May can expect thoughtful touches at every step of their journey, from locally inspired dishes onboard, to an on ground commemoration of the occasion at check-in, and much more. Customers flying during the Independence Day period will be able to savor mansaf as one of the main dishes being served onboard across all classes. To round off their meal, cream-filled knafe will be served onboard, for the perfect sweet punctuation to their local culinary experience. Cabin Crew will also be sharing a special announcement onboard services on the 25th of May. Customers checking in to their Emirates flights at Queen Alia International Airport will find patriotic designs across their ticket sleeves as well as at check-in screens. Mohammad Lootah, Area Manager Jordan said: “We are delighted to celebrate Jordanian Independence Day with our customers, and we have worked hard to make the experience extra special for them this year. We are part of every community we serve, and Emirates is proud to have played a role growing businesses, changing lives and generating opportunities in Jordan by providing improved connectivity and a superior product. Emirates has deep roots here in Jordan and we’re always looking for new ways to serve one of the region’s most dynamic markets.” Emirates has been flying to Jordan since 1986, and will be celebrating its 35th anniversary this year in the country. Emirates has developed its operations in Jordan, providing more connectivity for its customers and boosting its services to the country, and today operates a daily flights between Amman and Dubai utilizing the iconic A380, and will be boosting flights to a double daily operation starting from July.

Flights from Nur-Sultan are scheduled to depart at 09:00 and arrive in Podgorica at 10:5Flights from Almaty will depart at 07:30 and arrive in Podgorica at 10:25Passengers are required to have a negative PCR certificate issued not later than 72 hours before departure Air Astana will inaugurate new services between Kazakhstan and Montenegro on June 9, with flights to Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital,  operating from Nur-Sultan on Wednesdays and Saturdays and from Almaty on Thursdays and Sundays. All flights will be operated by new Airbus A321LR aircraft. Flights from Nur-Sultan are scheduled to depart at 09:00 and arrive in Podgorica at 10:55, with return from Podgorica at 12:00 and arrival in Nur-Sultan at 21:20. Flights from Almaty will depart at 07:30 and arrive in Podgorica at 10:25, with return from Podgorica at 11:30 and arrival in Almaty at 21:25.  All times local. Passengers are required to have a negative PCR certificate issued not later than 72 hours before departure in order to enter Montenegro. A certificate is not required for children under 5 years of age, passengers with a positive result of IgG antibody test issued not later than 30 days, and passengers who have completed a full course of coronavirus vaccination, approved in Montenegro. Air Astana is the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, based in Almaty. It operates scheduled, domestic and international services on 64 routes from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its secondary hub, Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport.

Wizz Air relaunches flights to Malaga and Dortmund on 21 and 23 MayWizz Air is using its fleet of A321neos on the Spanish linkWizz Air is using A320s to connect to Germany Budapest Airport welcomed the return of Wizz Air’s flights to Malaga and Dortmund, on 21 and 23 May, respectively. Using its fleet of A321neos on the Spanish link, and A320s to connect to Germany, the ultra-low-cost carrier will introduce 838 weekly seats (June) to its re-expanding network from the Hungarian capital. Wizz Air has launched the operations as weekly services to both destinations for the remainder of May, already confirming a frequency boost in June to twice-weekly links. “We’re delighted to already see seat capacity growing on both routes, providing choice for passengers to travel between each country,” explains Balázs Bogáts, Head of Airline Development, Budapest Airport. “Wizz Air will once again allow us to offer a variety of connections, the first selection being fantastic destinations. As one of Southern Spain’s most popular regions, Malaga epitomizes Andalusian lifestyle, while Dortmund is renowned as a commercial and cultural center in Germany – both possibilities in huge demand from our airport,” adds Bogáts.

48 airlines ready to start at Terminal 2 Sky Line people mover and bus services to shuttle between both terminals againDowntime effectively used for modernization and extensive repairs Frankfurt Airport’s Terminal 2 will open it’s doors again on Tuesday, June 1. Terminal 2 parking facilities and the Sky Line and bus transfer connections to Terminal 1 will also be providing regular service again. Consequently, passengers departing from Frankfurt Airport on or after June 1 should check in advance which terminal their flight will leave from. “We’re very pleased to announce that, after more than a year, Terminal 2 will finally be reopening,” says Sascha König, who heads Fraport AG’s terminal resource management department. “This will put us in an excellent position for handling the predicted increase in passenger volumes during the upcoming summer months. Of course, we’re also doing everything possible to prevent infection and safeguard the health of our passengers and employees at Terminal 2.” Comprehensive health measures have been implemented to thoroughly prepare Terminal 2: including a total of 3,000 floor markings, 480 see-through partitions installed at the check-in counters, blocking off every other seat in the waiting areas,  and installing 30 disinfectant dispensers. “It’s naturally up to each individual to comply with the rules for preventing infection,” stresses König. Effective June 1, the Terminal 2 parking facilities will also be fully operational and available for use. Because more passengers are now driving to the airport in their own cars due to the ongoing pandemic, it is strongly recommended to book a parking space in advance. Important notice: Passengers who are already booked to parking Terminal 1, but who will now be flying from Terminal 2, do not need to take any action. The QR codes they have already received can be used to drive into the P8 and P9 underground parking garages at Terminal 2. Coinciding with the terminal’s reopening, some restaurants and other services will also once again be serving passengers and visitors. Like at Terminal 1, these retail and food outlets will be subject to the current legal requirements, focusing initially on meeting travelers’ basic needs. A supply of food and beverages will be ensured, but only on a takeaway basis until further notice. Food and beverages may be consumed everywhere. However, when removing their facemasks for eating or drinking, passengers and visitors are asked to keep a sufficient distance from others. In addition to restaurants and food stands, shops selling magazines and newspapers, will be open. In the transit area, guests can enjoy Duty Free and Travel Value shopping. Hygiene products can be purchased in shops and via vending machines. Other services available include a pharmacy, currency exchange, tax refund, customs, as well as car rental services. A list (updated daily) of the shops and restaurants open at Terminal 2, including information on their business hours and “click & collect” opportunities, can be found on FRA’s airport website. The Visitors’ Terrace at Terminal 2 will remain closed for the time being. Frankfurt Airport is getting ready to reopen this popular viewing platform in August.  Terminal 2 has been closed to traffic since March 2020, due to the decrease in flights caused by the pandemic. Fraport, the airport’s manager, has effectively used this time to carry out extensive upgrades, repairs, and modernize projects in the Terminal 2 complex, which was inaugurated in 1994. The spacious terminal hall now also shines in a new light, thanks to installation of 3,136 new glass panes in the five skylights of the terminal roof. By the end of this year, 5,550 m² of asphalt roofing and 2,440 m² of concrete dividers will also be replaced. All of the terminal technical systems, cables, and electrical systems have also been optimized.

Tourism is among key economic areas which African countries are looking to develop, market, and promotefor the continent’s prosperity.The 2 heads of state have jointly agreed to eliminate barriers hindering smooth flow of trade and people.East African countries have resolved to advance regional tourism cooperation to help unlock potential in the region. A move by these 2 African countries to cooperate in trade and tourism was taken 2 weeks before African nations celebrated Africa Day on May 25, 2021, to commemorate the foundation of the African Union Organization of African Unity (OAU) on the same date in 1963. Tourism is among key economic areas which African countries are looking to develop, market, and promotefor the continent’s prosperity. Tanzania President Samia Suluhu made a 2-day State visit to Kenya a few weeks ago, then held talks with Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta targeting the development of trade and movement of people between the 2 neighboring states. The 2 heads of state have jointly agreed to eliminate barriers hindering smooth flow of trade and people between the 2 East African nations. They later instructed their respective officials to initiate and conclude trade talks to bridge significant differences between the 2 countries, reports from Kenyan capital Nairobi said. Movement of people also include local, regional, and foreign tourists visiting Kenya, Tanzania, and the entire East African region.

The flight from Moscow to Split will be operated on Fridays starting from June 2The flight from Moscow to Zadar will be operated on Saturdays starting from June 26In April 2021, S7 also resumed weekly flights to Pula, Croatia Russia’s S7 Airlines announced today that it will launch cargo-passenger flights to the cities of Split and Zadar in Croatia in June of this year. Currently, regular flights between Russia and Croatia are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, airlines can operate specific cargo and passenger flights. “S7 Airlines has launched the sale of air tickets for direct flights from Moscow to Croatian cities of Split and Zadar. The flight from Moscow to Split will be operated on Fridays starting from June 25. The flight from Moscow to Zadar will be operated on Saturdays starting from June 26,” S7 said in the statement. Croatia is currently open for travel, but foreign tourists need to present their paid hotel reservation upon entry. They also need to present a negative PCR test taken no more than 48 hours prior to the travel date or a certificate of vaccination. In April 2021, S7 also resumed weekly flights to Pula (Croatia). Earlier, the airline launched flights from Moscow to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus.

Belarusian airlines to be barred from carrying out flights to EU airportsBelarussian carriers to be banned from flying in EU airspaceEuropean airlines advised to suspend all flights in Belarusian airspace European Union leaders decided at the summit on Monday to ban Belarusian airlines from carrying out flights to EU airports and flying in EU airspace after the Belarussian state-sponsored hijacking of the Ryanair flight over Belarus, that was forced to land in Minsk. “This act of state piracy cannot go unpunished,” Clement Beaune, France’s Minister of State for European Affairs, said on Monday. “We will continue imposing sanctions to primarily ensure the security of our own citizens,” Beaune vowed. European airlines were also advised to suspend all flights in Belarusian airspace. The summit “calls on all EU-based carriers to avoid overflight of Belarus; calls on the Council to adopt the necessary measures to ban overflight of EU airspace by Belarusian airlines and prevent access to EU airports of flights operated by such airlines,” according to the statement. This decision does not go into effect yet and needs to be approved by the Council at the ministerial level. The United States has also resolutely condemned the hijacking the Ryanair flight in the airspace over Belarus on Sunday and demanded an immediate release of Roman Protasevich, who was detained after a forced landing of the aircraft in Minsk, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “The United States strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Roman Protasevich in Minsk,” Blinken stated. “We demand his immediate release.” “This shocking act perpetrated by the [Belarusian President Alexander] Lukashenko regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens,” the US state official said.

Three-day event opens under the theme “A news dawn for travel and tourism.”President of Emirates believes demand for air travel could come back at a staggering rate by Q4 2021 if the vaccine program beats the virus.Aviation, regional tourism, destinations, and technology are some of the key topics discussed on the first day of ATM Virtual 2021. Under the same theme of “A new dawn for travel & tourism,” the three-day event, which was specifically designed for those industry professionals unable to attend the in-person ATM event, kicked off this year with Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates, who gave a candid outlook about the recovery of the aviation industry. During a virtual conversation with top aviation consultant, John Strickland, who conducted the interview from London, Sir Tim initially gave his opinion on the recovery timescale of the aviation sector. “The ideal situation is that the vaccine program beats the virus by Autumn of this year and we get some relief then demand will come back at a staggering rate. Low cost (airlines) will benefit from intra-European travel, the US domestic market, China’s domestic market and international travel will (also) return in large numbers,” said Sir Tim. “But the problem (with this scenario) will be twofold. The ability of airlines to meet the demand when it comes and two, the conditionality of country access requirements,” he added.

Uzbekistan airline relaunches Russia serviceFlights between Tashkent and Moscow resume in JuneUzbekistan Airways restarts flights from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport The press service of Uzbekistan’s flag carrier airline announced today that Uzbekistan Airways will resume flights from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport on June 15, 2021. “Uzbekistan Airways will resume flights from Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport from June 15, 2021,” the press service says. The decision to restart flights was driven by provision of comfort and service level improvement for passengers on the Uzbek flag carrier flights. The partnership with the Domodedovo Airport will make possible to create comfortable conditions for dynamic development of tourism in Uzbekistan, the press service said. JSC Uzbekistan Airways is the flag carrier airline of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub at Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport, the airline serves a number of domestic destinations; the company also flies international services to Asia, Europe and North America.

Critical infrastructure facilities have become increasingly viable threat targetsAfrica is expected to be the fastest-growing region, followed closely by Asia-PacificMiddle East will remain the largest market and will continue to fortify its cyber defenses The latest industry analysis finds that while corporate and consumer businesses remain popular marks for cyberattacks, critical infrastructure facilities have become increasingly viable threat targets. They are highly vulnerable to major operational disruptions and cyber incidents that can lead to real-world peril. Despite the ever-increasing threat landscape and their incredibly high-risk profile, critical infrastructure organizations remain far behind where they should be in their cyber maturity and digital resilience strategies, necessitating a rapid push to fortify cyber defenses and manage their cyber-risk profiles. The global critical infrastructure cybersecurity market—which is segmented into oil and gas facilities, utilities (electric and water), maritime (ports and entry points), and airports—is estimated to reach $24.22 billion by 2030 from $21.68 billion in 2020. While oil and gas facilities will continue to remain the largest segment investing in cybersecurity solutions, airports will prove to be the fastest-growing one, with a CAGR of 10.1%. Spending is expected to reach $1.87 billion by 2030. This is driven by the ongoing construction of new facilities, significant digitalization upgrades within existing airports, and the incremental updates being made to cybersecurity systems to keep up with the changing cyber-threat landscape and improve detection capabilities. Africa is expected to be the fastest-growing region, followed closely by Asia-Pacific. Much of the investment in both regions is from new facilities being built, renovated, or expanded that require new cybersecurity systems installed, as well as changing consumer awareness of their cybersecurity risks. The Middle East will remain the largest market and will continue to fortify its cyber defenses and protect against prevalent cyber-threats. Market participants should focus on the following to tap into lucrative growth prospects: Data traffic monitoring for operational technology systems: Vendors must ensure that their monitoring solutions can detect the actions of active and passive assets and all data traffic types, then decide how best to analyze the data.Network topology solutions for vulnerability and risk assessment: Market participants seeking to provide network topology capabilities need to ensure that they can identify and discover the variety of information technology (IT), Internet of Things (IoT), and operational technology (OT) devices within an organization’s network architecture to begin building the topological model.Continuous discovery for organizational assets: For security vendors, emphasizing continuous monitoring and automatic discovery tasks will help attract new customers and improve their market share.Predictive analytics and threat intelligence for incident detection: Cybersecurity solutions providers must emphasize automatic and predictive capabilities in their system tests and proofs of concept with customers to show how these systems will not overwhelm their existing security functions.Secure-by-design initiatives for operational technology assets and systems: Security operators that want to update older OT assets and devices should look at any components that are not engineered via secure-by-design manufacturing.

How safe is it for commercial airlines to fly over certain countries, including Belarus? Hopefully, Belarus is not setting a new trend for state-sponsored hijacking and terrorism.A commercial flight operated by Ryanair was on a route to fly from the capital of one EU member country Greece to another member country Lithuania, from Athens to Vilnius. All passengers went through European strict security checks. They took off shoes, had their lap-tops scanned separately from their hand luggage, and bringing liquid was illegal. Ryanair is an airline based in another EU Country Ireland and operated its scheduled flight. FR 4978 was leaving its cruising altitude of 39,000 feet to land in Vilnius after a 3-hour flight from Athens when Belarus aviation authorities warned the captain of a possible bomb on board. Instead of continuing to the closest airport at that time, what would have been the destination airport Vilnius, Belarus authorities instructed the pilot to make a U-turn just two miles from the border and revert thje Boeni Belarus capital city of Minsk. There was an emergency for Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko. One of his enemies was a passenger on this plane. His name is Roman Protasewitsch, a journalist and blogger critical to Belarus ruler. Once the plane touched down in Minsk authorities stormed the plane and arrested the blogger and two of his friends. In addition two other passengers, who may have been KGB agents left the plane. The bomb was no longer an issue at that time, but to keep up the show bags were unloaded and sniffer dogs tried to find bombs. Belarusian opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, who is in exile, told Sky News that she was afraid for Protasevich’s life. He is a high-profile opponent of President Lukashenko. “We don’t just worry about his freedom, but about his life,” The EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell, on behalf of all 27 EU countries, called for the Belarusian journalist to be released immediately. His arrest is another obvious attempt by the Belarusian authorities to silence all opposition voices. With the forced landing in Minsk, the Belarusian authorities would have endangered the safety of the passengers and the crew, said Borrell. The incident must lead to an international investigation. “Measures against those responsible” should be discussed at the EU special summit, which begins in Brussels in the evening.” Also the United States demanded the immediate release of the journalist and said 100 passengers and crew, including US citizens were put in danger by Belarus. In 2013 the United States and Austria were accused to force a private airplane on a flight originating in Russia forced to land overflying Austria. The reason was Edward Snowden was thought to be a passenger onboard this Bolivian jet carrying the Bolivian president. Edward Snowden was a former U.S. intelligence worker who leaked secret data. The situation here was different since the plane was unable to continue its route since France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy reportedly refused permission to fly over their territories giving in on pressure from the United States. How can the international aviation industry protect itself from countries to engage in state sponsored hijacking of passenger flights?

This incident affected around 4,500,000 data subjects in the worldCredit card data was compromised but CVV/CVC numbers were not held by Air India’s data processorAir India also said that no passwords were affected India’s national carrier and largest international airline informed the its customers of a data security breach that took place between August 26, 2011 and February 3, 2021. Air India has said the personal data of millions of passengers was compromised as the result of a cyberattack. The stolen information included credit card and passport details.  “This incident affected around 4,500,000 data subjects in the world,” Air India said in a statement. The stolen data included passengers’ names, dates of birth, contacts, passport details, and ticket information. The credit card data was also compromised, but Air India said that CVV/CVC numbers were “not held by our data processor.” Air India also said that “no passwords were affected.” It added that “external specialists” had been brought in to help secure the compromised servers. A number of major airlines, including British Airways and EasyJet, as well as airline service providers, have fallen victim to successful cyberattacks in recent years. British Airways was fined £20 million ($28 million) by the UK’s data protection regulator last year after the personal information of more than 400,000 customers was stolen.

Dan joins Delta from General Electric, where he is currently the Senior Vice President and CEO of GE Power PortfolioDan Janki will also join the Delta Leadership CommitteeDan is known for his close working relationship with his teams and a strong customer focus Delta Air Lines continues to build out its leadership team as it flies into the recovery, with Dan Janki joining the airline as its new E.V.P. and Chief Financial Officer. As Delta Air Line’s top leader in finance, Dan will oversee financial reporting, the controller organization, corporate audit, financial planning, fleet and TechOps supply chain, fuel management, including Delta’s refinery, investor relations, supply chain management and treasury. In addition, corporate strategy will report to Dan.  He also will join the Delta Leadership Committee. Dan joins Delta from General Electric, where he is currently the Senior Vice President and CEO of GE Power Portfolio. He has more than 25 years of experience at GE in a wide variety of senior roles. “Dan is known for his close working relationship with his teams and a strong customer focus,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees. “He shares our spirit of innovation and collaboration, and our values of servant leadership, honesty, integrity and respect for all.” “I’m thrilled to join Delta’s talented team, renowned for its innovative, collaborative and people-centric culture. As a longtime frequent flyer and corporate business partner, I have a deep appreciation for Delta’s strong commitment to its customers, and its reliable and trusted service,” Dan said. “I’m also immensely grateful to my colleagues and friends at GE, and I wish them continued success as I look forward to getting to know my new colleagues at Delta.” In his memo, Ed thanked Gary Chase and Bill Carroll for their exceptional leadership as interim co-CFOs. “Their collaboration and support of our world-class Finance organization has been instrumental in our progression through the recovery,” he said. “I’m proud of the great work of our finance team throughout the pandemic and how they have positioned Delta to emerge stronger.” Dan, who lives in Atlanta with his wife, Terri, and three children, will join Delta effective July 12, 2021.

United will increase flights between New York/Newark and Rome to daily in JulyUnited will increase flights between New York/Newark and Milan to daily in JulyUnited will resume 5x weekly service between New York/Newark and Barcelona beginning in July United Airlines applauds Spain following its decision to reopen travel to vaccinated visitors beginning June 7. The announcement comes following the European Union Council’s formal recommendation that EU Member States can reopen to fully vaccinated tourists and United looks forward to welcoming back customers on over 30 daily flights to 16 destinations in Europe this summer, including service between New York/Newark and Barcelona and Madrid. United Airlines is also making traveling to and from these countries easier with its industry-leading Travel-Ready Center which allows customers to view COVID-19 entry requirements, find, schedule and receive uploaded test results from local providers and upload any required testing and vaccination records for domestic and international travel, all in one place. United is the first and only U.S. airline to integrate all these features into its mobile app and website. “The EU Council’s recommendation represents the turning of the page in the pandemic for our customers, employees and residents of the EU, and brings us all closer to reuniting the world,” said Patrick Quayle, vice president of international network and alliances at United. “In addition to offering service to more destinations in Europe than any other U.S. carrier, only United allows customers to easily upload vaccine records and testing results to our app making international travel much easier.” United also recently announced a new collaboration with Abbott and became the first U.S. carrier to set up an easy way for international travelers to bring a CDC-approved test with them, self-administer while abroad, and return home through an innovative collaboration with Abbott. This summer, United is expanding its service to Europe including recently announced new routes to Dubrovnik, Croatia; Reykjavik, Iceland and Athens, Greece as well as adding more flights into Frankfurt, Munich and Brussels that provide broad connectivity throughout the region. United is increasing flights across Europe and will operate the following routes to European countries which have recently announced plans to welcome tourists who meet the destination requirements: Italy: United will increase flights between New York/Newark and Rome to daily in JulyUnited will increase flights between New York/Newark and Milan to daily in JulyUnited’s flights from New York/Newark and Rome and Milan are part of Italy’s COVID-tested flights program – customers traveling on these flights may avoid self-isolation and must present a negative PCR or rapid antigen test result, performed no more than 48 hours prior to departure and a negative antigen test on arrival. Spain: United will resume 5x weekly service between New York/Newark and Barcelona beginning in JulyUnited will resume 6x weekly service between New York/Newark and Madrid beginning in July

Executive Order which modifies travel restrictions goes into effect on Monday, May 24Executive Order eliminates negative COVID-19 PCR molecular test requirements for fully vaccinated travelers on domestic flightsExecutive Order lifts local curfew that was established in March 2020 Discover Puerto Rico, the Island’s Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), is sharing updates for U.S. inbound travelers stemming from the local government’s latest Executive Order, announced yesterday. The order, which goes into effect on Monday, May 24, includes modified restrictions such as the elimination of negative COVID-19 PCR molecular test requirements for fully vaccinated travelers on domestic flights and the lifting of the local curfew, which was established in March 2020. “Puerto Rico has prioritized health and safety from the onset of the pandemic, becoming the first U.S. destination to implement an Island-wide curfew, among other measures developed to safeguard residents and visitors. As restrictions loosen, we look forward to welcoming travelers seeking to responsibly explore our Island, immerse themselves in unforgettable culture, unique natural wonders and delicious cuisine, while taking advantage of the ease of travel that comes with Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory, including no need for a passport for U.S. citizens,” said Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico. Additional reduced restrictions include increased capacities for businesses, raised from 30 to 50 percent; the removal of a mask requirement for fully vaccinated individuals in parks and beaches; and permission to consume alcoholic beverages in pools and beaches. The reopening of the Island’s coliseums, popular for entertainment experiences, will also be permitted at 30 percent capacity, with all attendees required to present either a vaccination card, or negative antigen test to gain admission. A full overview of the revised measures and arrival requirements is available in Discover Puerto Rico’s travel guidelines. For those travelling to Puerto Rico, the Island offers a wide array of unique attractions, with no need for a passport, currency exchange or phone plan adjustments for U.S. citizens. From a unique history infused with Spanish, Taino, and African heritages, to a booming coffee culture, and unparalleled offerings in nature including El Yunque, the only rainforest in the U.S Forest Service; three of the world’s five bioluminescent bays and stunning pink salt flats – Puerto Rico has a plethora of one-of-a-kind experiences. Exciting updates on the Island include the recent reopening of El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo and the opening of the highly anticipated Distrito T-Mobile, which is destined to be the most vibrant and popular setting for events, conventions and performances in the Caribbean region, coming later this year.

Canada’s approach to border management includes entry and flight restrictionAir passengers who depart India or Pakistan to Canada, via an indirect route, must obtain COVID-19 pre-departure test from a third countryMandatory pre-arrival, on-arrival, and post-arrival testing requirements; mandatory hotel stopover for air travelers; and mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers The Government of Canada takes a prudent and responsible approach at the border, by continually monitoring and reviewing available data and scientific evidence to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Today, the Government of Canada is extending the temporary travel measures restricting entry into Canada by foreign nationals until June 21, 2021. To continue managing the elevated risk of imported COVID-19 cases into Canada, the Government of Canada has extended the Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) restricting all direct commercial and private passenger flights to Canada from India and Pakistan until June 21, 2021 at 23:59 EDT. The government is also extending the requirement for air passengers who depart India or Pakistan to Canada, via an indirect route, to obtain a COVID-19 pre-departure test from a third country before continuing their journey to Canada. Canada’s approach to border management includes entry and flight restrictions; mandatory pre-arrival, on-arrival, and post-arrival testing requirements; mandatory hotel stopover for air travelers; and mandatory 14-day quarantine for travelers. The Government of Canada is also extending those measures to protect the health and safety of Canadians. As the science and evidence evolve and knowledge of the virus and variants increases, the policies to keep Canadians safe will evolve as well. Current data shows that Canada’s pre-arrival, on-arrival, and post-arrival testing requirements, as well as mandatory hotel stay for air travelers, are working. The Government of Canada’s response will continue to prioritize protecting the health and safety of Canadians, while also ensuring the safe flow of goods and services that are necessary for the Canadian economy. Quotes “As the number of COVID-19 cases remain disproportionally high in India and Pakistan, we have extended our flight restrictions and third country pre-departure testing requirements for these countries. These ongoing measures are in place to help protect Canadians, and manage the elevated risk of imported cases of COVID-19 and variants of concern into Canada during a time of increasing pressure on our health care system.” The Honorable Omar AlghabraMinister of Transport “We are extending the testing and quarantine measures at the border because they protect Canadians. As our health care system grapples with the third wave of the pandemic, our government will continue to adjust its response to COVID-19. I encourage all Canadians to get vaccinated when it’s their turn, and to keep following local public health measures.” The Honorable Patty HajduMinister of Health “Throughout the pandemic, we have taken strong action at our borders to protect Canadians while maintaining the flow of essential goods. We will continue to prioritize the health and safety of Canadians as we adapt to the changing reality of the pandemic.” The Honorable Bill BlairMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Quick Facts To address unique situations along the Canada-U.S. border, residents of Alaska who transit through Yukon by car to get to another part of Alaska, and residents of Northwest Angle, Minnesota, travelling by car through Canada to mainland U.S., will be exempt from pre- and post-arrival testing.Travelers must continue to use ArriveCAN to provide COVID-related information, but must enter it within 72 hours prior to their arrival to Canada. In addition, travelers must submit their travel history for the 14 days before entering Canada. This information will help identify and monitor countries with high importation rates of COVID-19 and variants of concern.Positivity rates for those arriving by air (1.7%) and land (0.3%) remain very low. The measures have resulted in 96% less air traffic and a 90% drop in non-commercial traffic entering Canada by land, compared to pre-pandemic volumes.All travelers entering Canada must submit their information, including details of their 14-day travel history, electronically using ArriveCAN. This information must be entered into ArriveCAN within 72 hours before a travelers’ arrival to Canada to ensure accuracy and to help monitor importation of COVID-19.Violating any quarantine or isolation instructions provided to travelers by a screening officer or quarantine officer when entering Canada is an offence under the Quarantine Act and could lead to series penalties, including 6 months in prison and/or $750,000 in fines.The Government of Canada currently contacts more than 5,500 travelers each day through live-agent or interactive automated phone calls, which verify their compliance with the mandatory isolation order.As of May 18, 2021, 97% of the 90,044 interventions by law enforcement have resulted in compliance by travelers. However, in a minority of cases, verbal warnings, written warnings, tickets, and charges have been issued.As of May 20, 2021, there have been 1,577 reported contraventions tickets issued for offences under the Quarantine Act.

Lufthansa is increasing its flight offerings to vacation destinations in Spain, Portugal and GreeceAdditional Lufthansa flights will take off to dream destinations such as Crete, the Algarve and the Balearic IslandsLufthansa is adding more flights to Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Ibiza, Faro, Lisbon and Heraklion Just in time for the long weekend over Corpus Christi, Lufthansa is now offering even more flights to attractive sun destinations. From June 3 to 6, the airline is increasing its flight offerings to vacation destinations in Spain, Portugal and Greece. Additional Lufthansa flights will take off from both Munich and Frankfurt to dream destinations such as Crete, the Algarve and the Balearic Islands. Lufthansa is adding more flights at short notice to Palma de Mallorca, Valencia, Ibiza, Faro, Lisbon and Heraklion, for example. In total, beginning of June, passengers can choose from 20 additional flights. The flights are available for booking now, combined with attractive and flexible rebooking options. With more than 100 vacation destinations, Lufthansa and Eurowings are offering more vacation destinations this summer than ever before. For example, Lufthansa is flying non-stop from Germany to twelve dream destinations in Greece for the first time. Passengers can also choose from attractive long-haul offers to top vacation destinations such as Male (Maldives), Cancún (Mexico) or Punta Cana (Dominican Republic). Lufthansa always facilitates travel under the highest safety and hygiene regulations, taking into account the overall pandemic situation. Customers should observe the relevant current entry and quarantine regulations when planning their trip.

Qatar Airways became a member of oneworld in October 2013Mr. Al Baker will succeed current oneworld Governing Board Chairman Mr. Alan Joyce, Group CEO of Qantas GroupOneworld alliance continued its growth trajectory during recent challenging times with the addition of two new members The Governing Board of the oneworld global airline alliance has appointed Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker to serve as its Chairman. Mr. Al Baker will succeed current oneworld Governing Board Chairman Mr. Alan Joyce, Group CEO of Qantas Group. As Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, Mr. Al Baker will oversee the alliance’s governance, chair oneworld’s Governing Board meetings and work closely with oneworld CEO Rob Gurney and the alliance’s management team. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “As we emerge from some of the most challenging times ever facing the global airline industry, I am honored to be chosen by my fellow board members to lead the Governing Board for oneworld, an alliance that has continued to expand since COVID-19 emerged, with the addition of two new members in Alaska Airlines and Royal Air Maroc. “I am also proud to lead an alliance that has set the benchmark for innovation, safety and customer service throughout the pandemic with many members, including Qatar Airways, taking the lead in trialing digital health passports. Qatar Airways has also enhanced bilateral relations with fellow oneworld members in the past 18 months, further demonstrating the strength of the partnerships between member airlines. “The pivotal role airlines and aviation play in the global economy has never been more evident than this past year, with both passenger and cargo operations in the spotlight, supporting international efforts to protect lives and livelihoods. We have collectively enabled mobilization of aid, medical supplies and key workers and I would like to pay tribute to all the teams who have worked tirelessly across the oneworld member airlines to support these efforts. “I look forward to serving as Chairman of the Governing Board and working with our alliance partners, oneworld CEO Rob Gurney and the oneworld team to provide more global connectivity, a seamless travel experience and more valuable loyalty offerings for our passengers.”

Sustainable Skies Act introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider, Dan Kildee and Julia BrownleyGoal of eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050 builds on the U.S. airline industry’s strong record of sustainabilityThe legislation would establish a blender’s tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization representing the leading U.S. airlines, applauds the introduction of the Sustainable Skies Act by Reps. Brad Schneider (IL), Dan Kildee (MI) and Julia Brownley (CA). The legislation would establish a blender’s tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which will spur the production of SAF and help the U.S. airline industry reach its goal of eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050 while also supporting U.S. jobs and energy security. “A4A’s goal of eliminating net carbon emissions by 2050 builds on the U.S. airline industry’s strong record of sustainability. The Sustainable Skies Act would go a long way toward improving the cost-competitiveness of sustainable aviation fuel, which is crucial to rapidly expanding its deployment by U.S. carriers,” said Airlines for America President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio. “The U.S. airline industry has set an ambitious mid-term goal of making 2 billion gallons of SAF available for U.S. carriers to use in 2030, and supportive measures like the Sustainable Skies Act will enable us to achieve that goal.” SAF currently results in up to 80 percent less carbon emissions than conventional jet fuel, but it costs three to times as much and is currently only available in limited quantities. The Sustainable Skies Act calls for a performance-based $1.50 – $2 per gallon blender’s tax credit for SAF, which will encourage producers to make more of it and enable U.S. airlines to use more of it. The credit will increase from $1.50 per gallon by one cent for each additional percentage of lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions savings demonstrated above 50 percent, further incentivizing the development and deployment of SAF providing higher emissions reductions. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, U.S. airlines were transporting a record 2.5 million passengers and 58,000 tons of cargo per day while contributing less than 2 percent of the nation’s carbon emissions. For decades, U.S. passenger and cargo carriers have been investing in increasingly fuel-efficient aircraft and operating them in more efficient ways, improving overall fuel efficiency by more than 135 percent since 1978 and 40 percent just since 2000.

Directly from Munich to Punta Cana, Cancún and Las VegasFour additional destinations from Frankfurt: Fort Myers, Panama City, Salt Lake City and KilimanjaroAll destinations for summer 2022 bookable as of May 26 The Lufthansa Group now already offers exciting vacation destinations on long-haul tourist routes for summer 2022. In addition to four more routes from Frankfurt, the Munich hub will again be integrated more strongly into the Lufthansa Group’s long-haul tourist offering. From March 2022, flights will once again depart from Munich to the sunny destinations of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Cancún in Mexico. Each destination will be served twice a week. Moreover, there will be two flights per week from the Bavarian capital to Las Vegas in the United States. Departing from Frankfurt, travelers can look forward to four dream destinations. Back on the flight schedule: Starting in March 2022, the Lufthansa Group will offer three flights a week to Fort Myers in the sunny state of Florida as well as to Panama City in Central America. In addition, Salt Lake City in the western United States will be on the flight schedule for the first time starting in May 2022 – with three flights per week. The Lufthansa Group is also expanding its services to East Africa and will be flying from Frankfurt to Kilimanjaro twice a week for the first time from June 2022. This summer, the flight schedule already includes Mombasa (Kenya) with onward flights to the dream island of Zanzibar (Tanzania). The flights will initially be published with Lufthansa flight numbers next week (May 26). They will be operated by Eurowings Discover in summer 2022. The new Lufthansa Group airline is specialized in tourist travel from the Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

First airline from the CIS and Southeast Asia successfully passes APEX auditThe Audit evaluated compliance of mandatory sanitary rulesAir Astana flight attendants replace their face masks every 2 hours, sanitize hands before and during inflight service and ensure passengers do not change seats Air Astana is the first airline from the CIS and Southeast Asia to successfully pass an APEX audit, with Diamond status being awarded for minimizing and preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus during flights. The APEX audit was developed in collaboration with SimpliFlying and covers categories including pre-departure testing of passengers and crew, contact tracing of infected passengers, ground handling, precautions during a flight and the quality of preflight cleaning. The Audit evaluated compliance of mandatory sanitary rules. Air Astana flight attendants replace their face masks every two hours, sanitize hands before and during inflight service and ensure passengers do not change seats. Due to the pandemic, onboard cleaning has also changed dramatically, with every surface in the cabin and in the galley now decontaminated prior to every flight. In order to promote passenger health safety, SimpliFlying has established a working group consisting of medical and scientific staff, who will examine recent researches to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The airline in its turn going to review and, if applicable, implement changes in line with audit recommendations. “The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global air transport is without precedent and whilst airlines remain extremely safe to fly based upon governmental review and covid-19 requirements, this program provides a scientifically based evaluation to set industry standard. We are delighted to be the first airline in the CIS region to have achieved the Diamond status, the highest level attainable,” said Margaret Phelan, Vice-President, Inflight Services. Other airlines that have undergone the APEX audit include Turkish Airlines, Qatar, United, Delta, Etihad and Singapore Airlines.

Part of funding resources were rededicated to Corona emergency measures and additional fundraising activities startedNew annual report provides information on project impactsFocus of 2020 work was on projects in India The current situation in India and many other parts of the world shows the serious impact of the Corona pandemic, especially on the weakest and poorest. In densely populated slums, it is almost impossible to comply with distance and hygienic rules. Furthermore, access to clean drinking water or medical care is impossible for many. As a globally active aid organization, help alliance therefore sees it as a very urgent responsibility to emphatically support the people most affected by the global crisis and to mitigate negative consequences as much as possible. The Lufthansa Group NGO reacted quickly to the changed situation caused by the Corona crisis and was able to continue its important work in the areas of education, work and income, prevention, health and food supply in its 39 projects in 2020. This year, seven additional projects will be funded, five in Europe. „We invested about 2.5 million euros in project work and were able to support over 40,000 people worldwide for the first time ever. Last but not least because we reallocated some of the funds for urgent Corona aid, like distributing food parcels and hygiene articles that enabled us to provide many people with additional emergency supplies”, is how Andrea Pernkopf, managing director of help alliance, summarizes the work of the aid organization in the organization’s annual report 2020, which was published today. Among other things, it contains detailed key numbers on project work impact – three exciting impact stories – donation highlights and the most important financial figures. Wide range of Corona emergency aid measures in 2020 In the reporting year 2020, help alliance educated more than 37,000 people about Corona and trained more than 30,000 people in need in hygiene measures. In the area of emergency care, the NGO provided around 18,000 people with masks and more than 10,000 people with food and hygienic products. Thanks to quickly implemented measures, around 20,000 children and young people were able to continue taking part in the aid organization’s educational programs – mostly digitally. Children need a future – fundraising for aid projects in India A key emphasis of help alliance’s work is aid projects in India: The proceeds generated for help alliance from the RTL Donation Marathon 2020 together with Mastercard will benefit neglected girls in the project “Education creates opportunities for street children.” Most of them live in a home in Dehradun, the capital of the state of Uttarakhand, which is far too small and in need of renovation. Thanks to donations, this will change. The successful fundraising campaign of the two companies Mastercard and Miles & More in the spring of 2021, which was held for the third year in a row, also raised around 200,000 euros. Donations will also be used for disadvantaged children and young people in three India projects run by help alliance. Help alliance is happy about every donation in favor of the Covid-19 prevention and emergency aid fund and guarantees that 100 percent of every cent donated goes to the project work.

73% of global respondents said they plan to take their next major vacation before the end of 202123% of the respondents had made travel reservations in the past weekResponses came from approximately 6,300 LGBTQ+ travelers around the world The International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, with support from the IGLTA Foundation, recently released the first findings from its 2021 LGBTQ+ Post COVID-19 Travel Survey. Responses came from approximately 6,300 LGBTQ+ travelers around the world, with the largest representation from the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India and the EU. One year into the pandemic, the desire to return to travel is stronger than ever. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of global respondents said they plan to take their next major vacation before the end of 2021Nearly one quarter (23%) of the respondents had made travel reservations in the past week, at the time of taking the survey “When we did our first LGBTQ+ post COVID-19 travel sentiment study last year, the pandemic was in its infancy and everything was uncertain. Still, the results were undeniable: LGBTQ+ travelers were anxious to return to travel as soon as it was safely possible,” said John Tanzella, IGLTA President/CEO. “We wanted to revisit this project a year into this challenging time to reinforce the resilience of LGBTQ+ travelers, and to champion the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion in destination outreach.” The survey also focused on the likelihood of LGBTQ+ individuals choosing a variety of travel-related activities in the next six months, again showcasing strong willingness to travel and the diversity of the LGBTQ+ travel market.  58% are likely/very likely to stay in a hotel or resort68% are likely/very likely to take a domestic leisure trip45% are likely/very likely to stay in a vacation home, condo or rental apartment31% are likely/very likely to take an international leisure trip19% are likely/very likely to visit an amusement park25% are likely/very likely to take a group trip13% are likely/very likely to take a cruise50% are likely/very likely to take a short-haul flight (3 hours or less)36% are likely/very likely to take a medium-haul flight (3-6 hours)26% are likely/very likely to take a long-haul flight (6 hours or more)43% are likely/very likely to attend an LGBTQ+ Pride Event The IGLTA Post COVID-19 LGBTQ+ Travel Survey was conducted between 26 March and 9 April 2021 through the association’s global network, including members and media partners. The responses came from 6,324 individuals around the world who identity as LGBTQ+. An emphasis was placed on obtaining greater gender parity in this survey. 57% of respondents identified as gay; 19% lesbian; 17% bisexual70% of respondents are between the ages of 25 and 6463% of respondents are men; 31% are women, 1% are transgender, 4% identify as non-binary or preferred to self-describe

I am feeling super proud of our Arabian Travel Market team as we close the curtains today on ATM 2021 in Dubai, Exhibition Director Danielli Curtis posted to her Linkedin account.The feedback by exhibitors at the Arabian Travel Market is overwhelmingly positive and reflects a sign of hope and relief.UNWTO and WTTC did not show flag at ATM in Dubai, while WTN attended “We have had so much positive feedback already from everyone about the quality of the meetings and the innovative sessions that took place. Reuniting with you all was one of the most incredible achievements and we are privileged to have brought you the first travel and tourism event in 18 months”, was the response by Exhibition Director Danielle Curtis representing the UK organizer Reed Travel Expo. Her words are echoed by almost everyone attending this trend-setting event in Dubai. The Arabian Travel Market 2021 was smaller compared to previous editions, but in midsts of an pendemic, this was expected. Considering this was the first sign and opportunity for the world to come together in person, it was surprising all of the Americas, Australia, Africa, much of Asia, and Europe did not take the opportunity to exhibit at ATM. Some regions in the world, including India, Nepal, Brazil, or South Africa are experiencing dangerous COVID-19 situations and of course, were not expected to be seen. However ATM is a start and regardless of how many countries exhibited it remains a trend now set for the travel and tourism industry, and specifically for the Meeting and MICE sector. Besides an overwhelming presence from the Gulf Region, Germany and specifically Visit Berlin tried hard to be seen. It was the only country that had organized a press conference. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) just finished its global summit in Cancun, Mexico last month. WTTC had been communicating its approach to become a global template for events. The WTTC Summit has been seen as the icebreaker for global travel and tourism events. It was strange, that WTTC was absent from ATM. WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara had no comments on why the organization claiming to represent major private industry had no stand at the Dubai event. WTM Chairman meets members UNWTO, the World Tourism Organization was also absent. UNWTO and WTTC opened regional offices in Saudi Arabia. With Saudi Arabia taking a prominent role both at the Cancun WTTC summit and the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, UNWTO and WTTC missed an opportunity to show unity and leadership. Several members of the newly founded World Tourism Network (WTN) came together in Dubai. Chairman Juergen Steinmetz said: “It was good to catch up with members. ATM opened up opportunities for the travel sector. Arabian Travel Market told the World Tourism Network Chairman: ” Due capacity restrictions the ATM networking evening was far smaller than usual years so I am afraid we could not accommodate everyone that due to limits set by COVID-19 regulations and an invitation to ATM’s networking party was not possible.” Instead of shouting out to the world, the organizer was protective to not expose exhibitors and themselves to media questions. The only press conference eTurboNews was aware of, was the one organized by the German Tourism Board and Visit Berlin. German Press Conference ATM was a mix of showcasing and exhibiting. A number of panel discussions touched on aviation, hospitality, and investments. Jordan Stand