News

Travellers warned as chaos hits UK sea route to France

Travellers heading to France from England were urged Saturday to pack food and water after huge queues developed on routes to the ferry port of Dover. A "perfect storm" of factors have coalesced as many people hit the roads at the start of Easter holidays, said Toby Howe of the local authority's "Kent Resilience Forum" in southeast England. Foremost was the suspension of sailings by P&O Ferries on the popular DoverCalais route, after it fired nearly 800 seafarers without notice. Another factor was problems with customs processes for freight lorries heading to Dover, Howe said, after Britain's Brexit divorce from the European Union. And this Easter is the first holiday period since the government lifted all Covid restrictions in England, including on outbound passengers "Make sure you have got some food and drink because there will be delays," Howe urged travellers, in an interview with BBC television. "A lot of the minor roads therefore are chock-a-block," he said, advising people to seek alternative routes. The Easter revival of travel has also caused havoc at several UK airports, notably Manchester in northwest England, after airports and airlines laid off thousands of staff during the pandemic.

Read more

FlyDubai launches flights to Pisa in Italy and resumes operations to Catania in Sicily

FlyDubai, , the Dubai-based airline, recently announced the start of flights to Pisa in Italy, becoming the first UAE carrier to operate this route from Dubai. The carrier will also resume its operations to Catania in Sicily growing its network in Italy to three points including Naples. Flights to Pisa International Airport (PSA) and Catania International Airport (CTA) start on 24 June with a three-times weekly service. Emirates will codeshare on these routes and the flights will operate from Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB), offering travellers more seamless connection through Dubai’s international aviation hub. Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at FlyDubai, said, “We look forward to the launch of flights to our third point in Italy this summer. Pisa will be a popular destination for travellers from the UAE and the GCC to discover the beauty of the Tuscany region. We have seen healthy growth in passenger numbers as more countries ease travel restrictions and demand for travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. We look forward to an exceptional summer as we continue to add more destinations to our network and increase the frequency of flights on some of our existing routes.” Pisa is a city in Italy's Tuscany region best known for its iconic Leaning Tower. The region in central Italy is home to some of the world’s most recognisable Renaissance art and architecture, including Michelangelo’s "David" statue, Botticelli's works in the Uffizi Gallery and the Duomo basilica. Its diverse natural landscape encompasses the rugged Apennine Mountains, the island of Elba’s beaches on the Tyrrhenian Sea and famous olive groves and vineyards. Commenting on the launch of flights, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at FlyDubai, said, “FlyDubai’s new three-times weekly service to Pisa, as well as our operations to Catania and Naples, offers passengers from the UAE and the region more options for travel to Europe this summer. Our passengers from Italy will be able to enjoy convenient and direct flights to Dubai throughout the year. Our flights will be operated by our fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft which feature a flatbed in Business Class and additional comfort in Economy Class.” Passengers travelling on a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft can enjoy more comfort and an enhanced travel experience. The new cabin offering features a flatbed in Business Class and, in addition to the extra space and privacy, passengers can sleep comfortably during their flight. Economy Class offers new RECARO seats, which are designed to optimise space and comfort so passengers can sit back, relax and enjoy their flight. FlyDubai’s Boeing 737 MAX aircraft also features exceptional inflight entertainment with a full HD, 11.6-inch screen, with a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music and games in English, Arabic and Russian. Passengers can enjoy complimentary seatback inflight entertainment in Business Class or purchase affordable inflight entertainment packages when travelling in Economy Class.

Read more

Uzbekistan Airways to increase frequency of flights on the Delhi route from April 17

Uzbekistan Airways has informed that it is increasing the frequency of flights on its international route to India. The airline’s PSA in India, Bird Travel in a statement revealed that flights on the Tashkent-Delhi-Tashkent route will be increased. Starting April 17, flights on this route will be increased to four times weekly. Currently, flights are operational twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays and from next Sunday, another frequency of flights will be added and subsequently another one on Wednesday starting May 4. The airline further says that air tickets can be purchased on the official website of Uzbekistan Airways, branch office of its sales office and airline’s authorised travel agents. In another development, the airline announced it is resuming scheduled flights on the Tashkent – Paris – Tashkent route as well, after a two-year pause. Flights to Paris will be operated from April 29 till June 10, twice a week – every Tuesday and Friday. The cost of an airline ticket on the Paris – Tashkent route starts from 4 038 862 UZS (without luggage) and from 4 777 879 UZS (with luggage), and on the Paris – Tashkent – Paris route from 7 582 047 UZS (without luggage) and from 8 772 182 UZS (with luggage). Prices are valid from April 4. “Tickets can be purchased on the official website of the airline with a 3 per cent discount, in the branch of Uzbekistan Airways Sales or from airline agents,” it added.

Read more

Nagpur to get a 100 crore African Animal Safari!

The Maharashtra Government has recently announced an INR 100 crore African Safari project in Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park in Nagpur. As per the news reports, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has stated that the government intends to conduct the country's first experiment to display wildlife from the African continent. An African safari has been proposed at Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoo for the same. As it’s already known that Africa is the second biggest continent in the world, and is famed for being home to rich wildlife, exploring its wildlife is something that features in the bucket list of many travel enthusiasts. So now, in the near future, one can explore the wildlife in Africa, in Maharashtra itself! Reports have it that this INR100 crore African Safari project in Balasaheb Thackeray Gorewada International Zoological Park, Nagpur, was announced by the Maharashtra Government in the budget 2022-23. For this, INR 60 crore Leopard safari is in the pipeline, and a 90-hectare forest area in Pune, whereas there is another plan to set up a tiger safari and a wildlife rescue centre in a 171-hectare area in Chandrapur district. Reports also have it that there is a plan to establish an INR 286 crore Maharashtra Gene Bank Project over the next five years. The gene bank will help to conserve genetic biodiversity in the state. If you have been keen to experience amazing African Wildlife, rejoice; it’s coming home.

Read more

Upcoming trends can be seen among Indian travellers as pandemic worries ease

As the coronavirus pandemic has become an endemic, places have begun opening up again. After two years of subdued spirits and bare essentials, the travel sector seems to be properly resuming in and outside India. The elation in this regard is only enhanced by the fact that many states and UTs in India, including Maharashtra, Haryana and Delhi, have lifted mandates requiring masks. Now, holiday planning and booking platform Booking.com has revealed that it has been witnessing an increase in travel searches for the upcoming summer months. The platform had earlier released a Travel Predictions 2022 research, which stated that 83% of Indian travellers were looking to go on any vacation, as long as their budget provided for it, while 65% of the travellers in India had expressed their willingness to go on a vacation if it was a type of trip they wished for. Now, the platform has said that summer holidays could mark the return of travel for Indians. The searches witnessed by Booking.com have indicated that beach and hill destinations are going to be preferred by travellers in the country. Goa, Srinagar, Manali, Ooty and Rishikesh have emerged alongside metros like Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi as the most popular destinations for travellers in India for the period between April 1 and June 30, this year. During this time, hotels have continued to be the preferred accommodation type, after which resorts were the popular choice. This was followed by guest houses, homestays and apartments. Looking outside India, however, during this period, the most popular international destinations for Indians emerged to be London, followed by Paris, Dubai, Toronto and Amsterdam. However, it is not just Indian travellers who are looking to travel. With India’s border restrictions easing in light of reduced COVID-19 cases across the world, India is once again being explored by international travellers as a viable tourist destination. Between April 1 and June 30, people from several different countries will be travelling to India. Among this, most will be from the US, according to Booking.com data, followed by travellers from the UK, Australia, the UAE and Germany. There is still a little bit of uncertainty that is surrounding the travel sector, especially with the fear of new coronavirus variants emerging and creating chaos. Despite that, many travellers are looking to go out and on a vacation. What’s more is that most of the travellers (72%) told the platform that money was not an issue for them as they had been saving money since the pandemic started by not taking any big trips. Due to this aspect, these people are looking at a wider choice of destinations or taking a more adventurous approach. Moreover, 79% of the travellers even expressed their willingness to go on vacation that is different from their preferences from before the pandemic, like wellness and sustainable travel which emerged as major vacation types in the last two years.

Read more

Latest Covid travel rules of popular destinations

We bring a list of Covid travel rules in 11 countries as India eases international travel. After two long years, the international flight travel ban was lifted last month as coronavirus cases started to see a steady decline over the last many weeks. The scorching summer is here and safe travelling is certainly on the cards for many after tedious months of lockdown. However, cases across several countries and their Covid rules may not be the same as that of India. So for all those planning a safe trip this year, here’s a handy list of rules at some of the most popular tourist destinations. For United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Dubai, Thailand, Italy, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and Germany, full vaccination proof is required. Only in the US, partially vaccinated people are not allowed, rest, among these nations, Canada and Switzerland have conditions for single-dose vaccinated people such as a negative RT PCR test. Countries like US and Singapore also require a negative RT PCR test on arrival while nations like UK and Dubai ask for a test only if a person is unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. Of these 11 countries only Italy and Switzerland require a booster dose. Most of them don’t press for quarantining except Thailand, Italy and Singapore that call for isolation if a person is unvaccinated. Additionally, tourists visiting Thailand need a mandatory $20,000 medical insurance that must cover Covid. You can travel to the US two weeks after the second dose. Covishield and Covaxin are approved and the vaccination QR code must on certificates. You can travel to Thailand and Germany two weeks after the second dose. Seven days only after second dose to travel to Australia and the country has also approved Covaxin and Covishield. Only for Italy, you need to be fully vaccinated for nine months and for Switzerland booster dose is a must. Almost all these countries have approved Covishield and Covaxin – homegrown in India – and the vaccination certificates are a must in the countries. International flights, suspended because of the pandemic, have been operating since March 27.

Read more