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Singapore to freeze new ticket sales for quarantine-free travel

Singapore will freeze all new ticket sales for flights and buses under its programme for quarantine-free travel into the city-state from December 23 to January 20, the government said on Wednesday, citing risk from the fastspreading Omicron Covid-19 variant. Under the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) programme, Singapore allows quarantine-free entry from some countries to fully vaccinated travellers on designated flights or buses. The travellers have to undergo regular testing. Singapore has set up these lanes for about two dozen countries, including Australia, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. The government said it will also temporarily reduce the VTL quotas and ticket sales for travel after January 20, 2022. For flights, the total ticket sales will be capped at 50 per cent of the allocated quota. "Our border measures will help to buy us time to study and understand the Omicron variant, and to strengthen our defences, including enhancing our healthcare capacity, and getting more people vaccinated and boosted," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

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Adopting Uttarakhand’s homestays model can be considered to kickstart economy & boost business: TAAI

Appreciating the steps taken by the Uttarakhand government to promote homestays, Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has urged the Centre to consider the same model for other states as well while saying that ‘such baby steps would prove to be fruitful in the time to come.’ “We have already seen the worse and speaking from the wise man’s perspective, we all must know the survival amid Covid by now. We need to keep ourselves more than ready to go to any lengths if we want our tourism sector to flourish” Mayal commented. The Uttarakhand government aims to boost the economy and tourism sector in the state through homestays which are on their way to be prepared in the villages too. Around 3,600 homestays are registered so far providing employment to 8,000 people. Sharing his opinion on the employment generated by these homestays, Jay Bhatia, Vice President, TAAI said, “This seems to be a welcoming move especially in the times when people who lost their jobs and bread winners in this pandemic and are in the dire need of money.” Bettiah Lokesh, HSG, TAAI in his comments acknowledged the state government’s move for engaging people and generating business and revenue. “The government is already providing self -employment through various schemes and have also simplified the process of loans; this homestay plan would not only provide bread to the locals but also boost tourism from travellers who likes to enjoy local and comfortable places rather luxury hotels.” “We all have seen a lot in the years gone by and are definitely ready if situations become fatal, but we cannot afford to let this pandemic be hindrance in any way to our businesses. We as an industry stand strong and shall try our best to come up with ideas to keep the flow alive and we whole heartedly support any good move like homestays that are directed towards strengthening the economy and boosting the travel sector,” stated Shreeram Patel, Treasurer, TAAI.

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Air India starts saving fuel, time as its flights for US, Europe take Hindu Kush route

Tata-owned Air India aircraft have started flying from 'Hindu Kush', one of the world's highest routes for US (North America) and Europe operations, cutting flight time and saving fuel. Since the closure of Afghanistan's airspace, Air India operates flights from India to the Western countries through the Hindu Kush route. "Hindu Kush is one of the world's highest air routes and Hindu Kush route starts saving time and fuel," an airline official on anonymity told ANI. Recently, Air India Toronto to Delhi flight operated on the Hindu Kush route on December 16. AI deploys a set of four pilots to the Toronto route last week. Captains Zoya Agarwal, R Someshwar, Sandeep Mukhedkar and Abhay Agarwal senior commander of AI's Boeing B777 call sign (VT-ALQ Manipur) over the Hindu Kush. "This route is challenging because since it is the highest route to fly in the world, there are many challenging procedures that you will have to complete in case of any emergency or technical issue and all the procedures are well thought out and are employed keeping safety paramount. In case anything goes wrong we are flying over the Hindukush region which is the highest area to fly in all over the world," one of the four pilots told ANI. Captain Zoya Agarwal, who is the only woman pilot in the group, created history by flying the first North Pole (San Francisco to Bengaluru) flight. "First woman commander to be a Part of 4-member cockpit crew that operated B777 call sign 'VT-ALQ Manipur' Toronto-Delhi flying over the Hindu Kush ranges on December 16 who also was the first to operate SFO-BLR inaugural taking the polar route on Jan 9, 2021, on a B777 'ER-ALQ Kerala'," airline officials informed. After closing off Afghanistan airspace, Indian carriers spent 9.5 hours from Delhi to Heathrow (London) via southern Pakistan. After using Hindu Kush Himalayan range route, Air India saved around one hour and 2.5 tonnes of fuel. The flight time was 8.5 hours. For Indian carriers, the Hindu Kush route will be a very economical operation in comparison to the traditional route via Afghanistan. "The Hindu Kush Himalayan range route will save flying time and fuel upto 5 tonnes it depends on wind speed and direction," an Air India official said. The Hindu Kush route means soaring over Tirich Mir (7,780 m or 25,525 ft) - the world's highest peak outside the Himalaya-Karakoram range. "Flying close to this Tirich mir making this route very critical," an AI pilot told ANI. As per aircraft structure, the B-777 can fly to a maximum altitude of over 30,000 ft fully loaded with passengers and fuel, and over 35,000 ft with the B787 Dreamliner.

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Airline passengers can claim if flight brought forward - EU court

Passengers in Europe are entitled to compensation not only if their flights are delayed but also if they are brought forward by more than an hour, the European Union's top court ruled on Tuesday. Under EU rules, passengers can claim damages if their flights are cancelled less than 14 days before departure or arrive more than three hours late or if they are denied boarding because of overbooking. Compensation, ranging from 250 to 600 euros (USD 282.38-USD 677.70), depends on the distance of the flight, with a possible 50 per cent reduction if the airline offers in advance to re-route the passenger so they arrive only a few hours late. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determined that a flight should be regarded as cancelled if it was brought forward by more than an hour. Judges reasoned that passengers could suffer the same degree of inconvenience as in the case of a delay, having to adapt their plans and even potentially missing the flight. The compensation should also be the same as that due for a cancellation or delay, with no right to reduce the amount by 50 per cent on the grounds that it has offered to re-reroute a passenger so that they arrive without delay at the final destination. Airlines can still offer to re-route passengers if they do so sufficiently in advance. The court also found that a passenger has a "confirmed reservation" not only if they have a ticket but also if a tour operator, through which the passenger has booked, has provided assurances of transport on particular flights. The case came to the CJEU from courts in Austria and Germany relating to flights operated by Azurair, Corendon Airlines, Lufthansa subsidiaries Austrian Airlines and Eurowings, as well as Laudamotion, now owned by Ryanair

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EU sets binding 9-month validity of vaccinations for Covid-19 travel pass

The European Commission on Tuesday adopted rules that will make the European Union Covid-19 certificate valid for travel nine months after the completion of the primary vaccination schedule. The proposal comes as several EU states introduce additional requirements on travellers in a bid to reduce the spread of the Omicron Coronavirus variant. EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders told Reuters the EU Commission was against additional requirements, and was assessing the measures. The new rules will be binding on the 27 EU states from February 1. The rule can be blocked by a qualified majority of EU governments or a simple majority of European Parliament members, but officials have said there is sufficient support for it. The rule replaces a non-binding recommendation the EU Commission put forward in November. Once the rule is effective, EU states will be obliged to let fully vaccinated travellers with a valid pass access their territory. However, as an exception justified by a deteriorating situation, they could still impose further requirements, such as negative tests or quarantines, as long as they are proportionate. Seven EU states are currently requiring fully vaccinated travellers from other EU countries to also show a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival, measures some see as damaging the credibility of the EU pass. The states are Italy, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Latvia, Cyprus and Austria. "We prefer to use for the free movement in Europe only the certificate without additional measures," Reynders said. He noted that the additional requirements could be justified by concerns caused by the spread of the Omicron variant, but governments had to prove they were proportionate and necessary. The Commission was still assessing the measures, Reynders said, adding that infringements proceedings for time-limited restrictions made little sense. The national measures are mostly limited to the Christmas period, although Italy's extend until the end of January. The new rules apply only for international travel. Governments will be able to have a different duration of the Covid-19 pass for access to events or indoor activities within their territories. After a booster shot, the validity of the Covid-19 pass will be extended further without a set limit, because at the moment there is not enough information about the duration of protection from boosters, an EU official said. A primary vaccination schedule for Covid-19 is currently composed in the EU of two shots of vaccines produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna, or a single jab of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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Maharashtra govt urges hospitality industry to support state EV policy

The Maharashtra government on Monday urged the hospitality industry to support the state's EV Policy that aims to convert 15 per cent of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) fleet into electric vehicles by 2025. "The state's comprehensive EV Policy has been developed to fortify Maharashtra's position as the leading destination for EV manufacturing and utilisation. With standard operating procedures (SOPs), infrastructure mandates, and incentivisation, we look forward to the widespread acceptance of EV's in the state," state Tourism and Environment Minister Aaditya Uddhav Thackeray said after a meeting with Chalet Hotels. The aggressive implementation of the EV Policy is critical and cannot be fully successful without support from the private sector, the Minister said in a statement. The Minister on Monday met with Chalet Hotels which has committed to convert 100 per cent of its vehicular fleet to EVs by 2025, along with setting up of EV charging stations, across its portfolio hotels and commercial office spaces. "Chalet Hotels has done some good work, and I encourage more corporates from hospitality as well as other industries to come forward with necessary interventions," Thackeray added. The primary objective of Maharashtra EV Policy 2021, which came into effect on July 23, is to accelerate the adoption of BEVs in the state so that they contribute to 10 per cent of new vehicles registrations by 2025. "The hospitality sector has a history of building environmental awareness amongst guests, whether through encouraging linen reuse, water recycling or saving, amongst others. Hoteliers are today, in a unique position to stand out in an untapped market of EV's by allowing guests to experience and potentially convert to them," he said. "We look forward to ably supporting with the Maharashtra government on further initiatives in the larger sustainability framework," Chalet Hotels Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Sethi added.

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