Following the Government of Canada’s announcement to reopen international borders on September 7, Air Canada unveiled additional detailsof its planned Munich (MUC) – Toronto (YYZ) flight schedule.The loosening of restrictions enables foreign nationals who have been fully vaccinated with the Government of Canada-accepted vaccines (Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and J&J) at least 14 days prior and who meet specific entry requirements to enter Canada for non-essential travel.Germany also allows fully-vaccinated Canadians or those able to show a valid negtative COVID test to enter the Germany and the Schengen area . Wearing Lederhosen for the gentlemen and a Dirndl for the ladies when flying non-stop from the Bavarian Capital City of Munich to Toronto will be possible without raising eyebrows by Germans in other cities outside Bavaria like Frankfurt. Many people in Ontario, Canada, love the Octoberfest and picture Germans wearing dirndls, lederhosen, and german hats, seen as traditional German Bavarian Octoberfest clothing. Lufthansa has been connecting Germany and Canada with non-stop flights already, and the addition of Star Alliance partner Air Canada to relaunch its route from Munich non-stop to Toronto will add to this important leisure and business market. Munich, Frankfurt, and other European airports such as Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris connect to Canada with direct and one-connect flights. Airlines and airports and the various alliances compete in this market. In addition, low-cost and charter carriers like Condor serve the German Canadian market from various airports in Germany and neighboring countries. The key airport in Germany remains to be FRAPORT (Frankfurt), but Munich in the Southern European State of Bavaria is the second most important hub to connect Germany with the world Almost all major airports are interconnected with the ICE Train system, allowing to connect major German cities and airports within hours and a speed exceeding 200 km/h. “As travel restrictions ease across the globe, we are committed to rebuild our international network and continue as a global carrier connecting the world to Canada. With Europeans eager to travel again to Canada, we are ready to reunite customers with their families and friends,” said Jen-Christophe Hérault, Regional Sales Manager Germany, Switzerland, Austria & Eastern Europe at Air Canada. Like all airlines, these days the excitement of Air Canada and Munich Airport is based on today’s situation. Therefore, Air Canada added to its press release: “Note that Air Canada’s commercial schedule may be adjusted as required based on the COVID-19 trajectory and government restrictions. Passengers are responsible for ensuring they meet allgovernment entry requirements, including holding the correct travel documents, visas, any required health certificates, and all other eligibility requirements for any flights they purchase. For the most current information, please visit our Information Hub or IATA’s Timatic website. Travel Policy: Book with confidence.Government requirements may change with little notice

An Ukrainian plane that arrived in Afghanistan on Sunday to evacuate Ukrainians has been hijacked by an unidentified group of people who flew the Ukrainian aircraft into Iran, Ukrainian Foreign minister told Ukrainian media: “Last Sunday, our plane was hijacked by other people.The plane was stolen and instead of airlifting Ukrainians, our next three evacuation attempts were also not successful because Ukrainian people could not get into the airport. According to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, the hijackers were armed. Other evacuation flights took off with no issue. However, the deputy minister did not report anything about what happened to the plane or whether Ukraine would seek to get it back. No information was released on how Ukrainian citizens can be evacuated from Kabul onboard this “practically stolen” plane or another aircraft Kyviv could send The minister only underlined that the Ukrainian diplomatic services headed by Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba “had been working in the crash test mode” the whole week. On Sunday, a military transport plane with 83 people on board, including 31 Ukrainians, arrived from Afghanistan in Kyiv. The presidential office reported that 12 Ukrainian military personnel returned home, while foreign reporters and public figures who requested help were also evacuated. The office also added that around 100 Ukrainians are still expecting evacuating in Afghanistan.

SAS increases the flights from its main Scandinavian cities Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, and Bergen to important destinations in its network to further improve connectivity for travelers. SAS will now be serving all its domestic destinations in Norway and Sweden when the Arlanda-Sundsvall route is reopened in September. The number of flights on SAS to important destinations for airline passengers in Europe will increase.  A rising interest in weekend trips and city breaks to European cities makes SAS resume its routes to Amsterdam, Dublin, Florence, Krakow, and Prague. There is also an increasing number of flights to warmer Mediterranean destinations in southern Europe and the Canary Islands to meet the growing demand from holidaymakers.  SAS will be flying more direct routes from the Scandinavian capitals to several US destinations from September onwards and will also be present in Asia on routes from Copenhagen to Tokyo and Shanghai.  SAS continues to bring in new and fuel-efficient aircraft and has one of Europe’s most modern fleets. The new aircraft has 15–30% lower fuel consumption, compared with the aircraft they replace. The new state-of-the-art aircraft will give SAS customers a more pleasant, comfortable, and sustainable way of traveling.  SAS is connecting Scandinavia with the world serving the following destinations: StockholmCopenhagenOsloBergenGothenburgAalborgAltaAlicanteKalmarAarhusAalborgCopenhagenKirunaFaroe IslandsAarhusOsloLuleåBergenBardufossStavangerMalmöGothenburgBergenStockholmRonnebyOsloBillundTrondheimSkellefteåStavangerBodøÅlesundSundsvallStockholmCopenhagenUmeåTrondheimHarstad/NarvikKristiansandVisbyAberdeenHaugesundAlicanteÄngelholmAlicanteKirkenesOsloÖstersundAmsterdamKristiansandAlicanteAthensLakselvStavangerAmsterdamBarcelonaLongyearbyenAberdeenAthensBerlinMoldeAlicanteBarcelonaBolognaStavangerBergenBergenBostonStockholmCopenhagenBerlinBrusselsTromsøOsloBillundChaniaTrondheimTrondheimBrusselsChicagoÅlesundÅlesundCopenhagenDublinAlicanteDublinDusseldorfAmsterdamTrondheimDusseldorfFaroAthensAlicanteEdinburghFlorenceBarcelonaBergenFaroFrankfurtBerlinBodøFrankfurtGazipasaBrusselsCopenhagenGazipasaGdanskChaniaOsloHelsinkiGenevaDublinStockholmKrakowHamburgDusseldorfTromsøLarnacaHelsinkiFaroÅlesundLas PalmasKrakowFrankfurtLisbonLarnacaGazipasaLondonLas PalmasGdanskMalagaLondonKyivMaltaLos AngelesLas PalmasManchesterMalagaLondonMiamiManchesterMalagaMilanMiamiManchesterNapelsMilanMiamiNew YorkMunichMilanNiceNapelsNew YorkOsloNew YorkNicePalma de MallorcaNicePalma de MallorcaParisPalma de MallorcaParisPragueParisReykjavikRomeReykjavikRomeSplitRomeSplitTallinnSan FranciscoTenerifeShanghaiThessalonikiSplitTrondheimTenerifeVilniusTokyoVeniceGothenburgVilniusAlicanteWarsawCopenhagenWashington DCFaroZurichLas PalmasMalaga

Emirates Airlines calls it a move to support the ramp-up of operations after boosting its passenger services to South Africa. Emirates has signed an interline agreement with Cemair that opens up connections to six more destinations in South Africa through the airline’s gateways of Johannesburg and Cape Town. The partnership between Emirates and Cemair also includes a couple of leisure points exclusively served by Cemair.This marks the first partnership between both airlines and Emirates’ fourth airline partnership in South Africa. Since Emirates resumed flights from Dubai to Johannesburg in September, the arrangement between Emirates and Cemair includes the convenience of single ticket itineraries with onwards booking and baggage transfers from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Margate, Durban, Hoedspruit, Plettenberg Bay, George, and Sishen. Adnan Kazim, Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates Airline said: “We are proud to partner with Cemair and commence our interline agreement. The new Cemair links provide our customers with even more possibilities to travel smoothly across many of South Africa’s most popular leisure points, in addition to the added benefit of connectivity to Cemair’s exclusively served points Margate and Plettenberg Bay. Connecting our networks solidifies our commitment to offering our customers even more travel opportunities, especially for those wanting to experience South Africa’s existing favorites, as well as travelers plotting new itineraries. We look forward to working together and strengthening our relationship.” Miles van der Molen, Chief Executive Officer of CemAir said: “We are delighted to partner with Emirates Airline, a name synonymous with quality and elegance. Our interline agreement provides our customers with convenience and savings as they can now seamlessly connect from our flights to the vast global network of this iconic airline.” As we continue our expansion during the post-Covid recovery period we realize that now more than ever partnerships are key to our success. Working with market leaders like Emirates Airline is a further demonstration of our commitment to our customers to provide the best service and value.” Customers can book their travel on emirates.com, Emirates sales offices, and travel agencies. Emirates boosted its operations to/from South Africa earlier this month and is presently operating 14 flights a week into South Africa via its gateways Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban. The airline continues to safely rebuild its global network, connecting customers to and through Dubai to over 120 destinations. The airline has been expanding its footprint across South and Southern Africa through enriching its interline and codeshare partnerships with South African Airways, Airlink, Cemair and Flysafair, driving more connectivity options that provide greater benefits for its customers, whilst supporting the recovery of the travel and tourism industry. CemAir Ltd is a privately owned airline operating in South Africa which services popular tourist destinations and important business towns, as well as leasing aircraft to other airlines across Africa and the Middle East. The airline is based in Johannesburg Cuthbert Ncube, Chairman of the African Tourism Board welcomes the new partnership between Dubai-based Emirates and South Africa based CemAir

Bangkok Airways announces the resumption of Samui – Phuket (v.v.) Starting from 25 August 2021 onwards, Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited will resume its direct services between Samui and PhuketBangkok Airways is resuming this service in order to facilitate passengers as well as to support Thailand’s re-opening projects which are Phuket Sandbox and Samui Plus Model.  The resumed services between Samui and Phuket will be operated by an ATR72-600 aircraft, starting with three flights per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). The outbound flight PG253 departs Samui airport at 11.25hrs. and arrives at Phuket airport at 12.25hrs. The inbound flight PG254 departs Phuket airport at 13.00hrs. and arrives at Samui airport at 14.00hrs.  Passengers traveling to and from the two cities are required to present a medical certificate with a laboratory result indicating that COVID-19 is not detected (done by RT-PCR technique and issued no more than 72 hours before traveling) and proof of vaccination. Additionally, passengers are also required to strictly follow guidelines issued by Phuket provincial office and Surat Thani provincial office, more information about requirements can be checked at https://www.gophuget.com and https://healthpass.smartsamui.com Moreover, the airline needs to extend the temporary suspension of in-flight meal service and temporary closure of its passenger lounges until further notice. 

Air France is looking optimistically in expanding its outreach to Africa when the national carrier of France introduced its 2021/2022 winter scheduleAIr France will be expanding its global network to Zanzibar, Seychelles Maputo and BanjulAfrican Tourism Board Chairman applauds this move Air France, stylized as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance. With the COVID-19 travel and tourism to Africa remains a challenge. Showing the confidence Air France is indicating for Africa will create confidence in the industry and hopefully among potential visitors. Paris-Banjul on Air France Air France will start service to Banjul, the Capital City of The Gambia in West Africa.Paris- Banjul will be operated on an Airbus A330 with 224 seats. It includes 36 spaces in business class, 21 premium Economy and 167 Economy seats. The Gambia is a small West African country, bounded by Senegal, with a narrow Atlantic coastline. It’s known for its diverse ecosystems around the central Gambia River. Abundant wildlife in its Kiang West National Park and Bao Bolong Wetland Reserve includes monkeys, leopards, hippos, hyenas, and rare birds. The capital, Banjul, and nearby Serrekunda offer access to beaches. Service is supposed to start on October 31. Paris- Maputo on Air France Also starting on October 31is Air France’s new service to Maputo, Mozambique. This new route to Maputo will be operated on a large Boeing 777-300ER offering First Class, Business, Premium Economy, and Economy. Mozambique is a southern African nation whose long Indian Ocean coastline is dotted with popular beaches like Tofo, as well as offshore marine parks. In the Quirimbas Archipelago, a 250km stretch of coral islands, mangrove-covered Ibo Island has colonial-era ruins surviving from a period of Portuguese rule. The Bazaruto Archipelago farther south has reefs which protect rare marine life including dugongs.  Paris- Abidjan on Air France AF704 will be operating between Paris Charles de Gaulle via Banjul to Abidjan in Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast recently hosted African Tourism Board Chairman Cuthbert Ncube and is on an expansion course to develop tourism in this West African nation. Côte d’Ivoire is a West African country with beach resorts, rainforests, and a French-colonial legacy. Abidjan, on the Atlantic coast, is the country’s major urban center. Its modern landmarks include ziggurat like, concrete La Pyramide and St. Paul’s Cathedral, a swooping structure tethered to a massive cross. North of the central business district, Banco National Park is a rainforest preserve with a hiking trail. Paris- Zanzibar on Air France Already on October 18, Air France will connect Paris with the holiday island in Tanzania, Zanzibar. This service will be operated with a stop in Nairobi, Kenya on a Boeing 787-9 Tourism in Zanzibar includes the tourism industry and its effects on the islands of Unguja and Pemba in Zanzibar a semi-autonomous region in the United Republic of Tanzania Paris – Seychelles on Air France Seychelles Tourism already announced and is excited to welcome an A330-2200 service from Paris to this French and English speaking Indian Ocean tourism paradise. Service originally started in 2019 and was interrupted due to COVID-19. This service will start on October 23. African Tourism Board Chairman Cuthbert Ncube told eTurboNews, he was excited about this expansion of the Air France network to Africa. Ncube feels this is a very positive development African Tourism has been waiting for.

Florida has the fastest spread of COVID-19 infection in a major Tourism State today with 25991 new cases or 1210 cases per million population. 27 people died or 1.25 per million Hawaii is the deadliest US Tourism State with 4 dead or 2.17 per million. Hawaii recorded 845 new cases or 584 per millionHawaii is a Democratic State, Florida a Republican State. Millions of American say YES to a vacation, …. but now? It really doesn’t make much of a difference to the COVID virus if a US State is run by a Republican or Democratic Governor. Do Florida and Hawaii Love Visitors to death? Opening a State to Tourism may however be a formula that also opens up the State up to record high COVID infections. Florida is wide open for tourism, and so is Hawaii, welcoming visitors with open arms. 92% of LGBTQ travelers in the U.S. are vaccinated. Fortunate both States are LGBTQ friendly. Both states are taking turns competing with each other for the last few weeks on who has the worst outbreak in new COVID-19 cases, and both States refuse to call for more meaningful restrictions on its money-earning visitor’s industry. Hawaii opened up to vaccinated visitors this month, and to visitors with a negative test since October 2020. Hawaii relaxed mask and social distancing requirements in restaurants, hotels, and other indoor settings, and COVID is spiking while tourism is booming. Florida got away in avoiding most restrictions, kept on advertising as a good travel destination, and COVID is spiking. Both states Florida, and Hawaii have in common, that the spread of COVID is at an all-time high at this time scaring many locals to hide in their homes. While Hawaii still has sufficient hospital beds at this time, in Florida emergency rooms are spread out to hallways already. In the past week, Florida has had more COVID cases than all 30 states with the lowest case rates, combined. Both states have more than 50% of their population fully vaccinated, and both States know the danger number is in the nonvaccinated camp. Both States also need the tourism economy to flourish and won’ consider stiff restrictions. Hawaii Governor Ige put some more symbolic restrictions back in place. He requires restaurants now to only sell 50% of their space. Since the United States is still closed to most international tourism, both States rely on domestic tourists. The European travelers are missing in Florida, while Japanese, and Koreans are no longer seen in Hawaii’s restaurants, shops, and beaches. Domestic Tourism however is compensating for this loss and has been booming like never before. Ironically Governor Ige in Hawaii told tourists there is no need to travel at this time, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority had been trying to make travel to Hawaii as uncomfortable as possible. All of this remains on death ears. The justification by officials that tourists really don’t mingle with locals is laughable, and everyone knows it. Hawaii and Florida actually became closer to each other after Hawaiian Airlines introduced non-stop flights from Honolulu to Orlando. The “rest of the story” is not yet known. It’s frightening to even think about the outcome, Unfortunately, some sentences are already written on the wall.