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India: You can now take a flight on these new domestic air routes

Domestic flights in India resumed operation from May 25 after a hiatus of two months due to COVID-19 pandemic. Although the number of flights has not reached the pre-COVID times yet, the domestic travel sector is gradually picking up pace. Reportedly, the domestic aviation sector is also adding up passenger flights to new routes gradually, as its primary focus is to reach its total strength by New Year. With Unlock 5.0 underway, the government has relaxed restrictions; following which, airlines are also expecting high demand ahead of the festive season now. As such, new flights have been added on certain routes to cater to the travel of people across the country. Here’s a list of new flights that have been added from October 12. Bengaluru-Madurai-Coimbatore flight Air India’s subsidiary, Alliance Air, has started the Bengaluru-Madurai-Coimbatore route from October 12. The flights will run four days a week, and will return the same day. As per the reports, the flight will depart Bengaluru at 6:30 AM and reach Madurai at 7:50. From Madurai, the flight will start at 8:20 AM and reach Coimbatore at 9:10 AM. The said flight will then return form Coimbatore at 9:35 AM and reach Bengaluru at 10:35 AM. This flight will operate on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai flight India’s national carrier resumed its direct flight service—Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai from October 12, which remained suspended due to COVID pandemic since April. This flight will be operating on the following days—Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. As regarding the flight schedule, the national carrier leaves Mumbai at 10:15 AM and reaches Mangalore at 12 PM. The flight returning from Mangalore would depart at 12:40 PM and reach Mumbai at 2:20 PM. Delhi-Kangra flight A new flight has been added between Delhi and Kangra route by Spicejet from October 12, after Himachal Pradesh announced that tourists visiting the state would no longer have to show any medical certificate. Reportedly, the flight starts from Delhi at 7:25 AM and reaches Kangra at 9 AM. From Kangra, the flight departs at 9:20 AM. Heading out for a vacation? Take your travel expert with you - download World Travel Guide. Explore other Travel Guide Apps.

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Indian Railways to run additional 392 festive special trains from Oct 20 to Nov 30

Indian Railways has recently announced that it will be operating 392 (96 pairs) of trains from October 20 to November 30 to facilitate travel for people during the festival season across the country. Reportedly, these 196 pairs of trains will be operating in addition to those already running on the tracks. The Railway Ministry issued a statement, stating that the decision was taken in view of the anticipation that there will likely be a passenger rush during the upcoming festive season. The statement further stated that the special trains will be catering to destinations including Patna, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Varanasi among others to meet the passenger rush Durga Puja, Dussehra, Chhatt Puja, and Diwali. Also, the Railway Board issued an order stating that the special festive trains will be operating at a speed of 55 kmph, and fares applicable will be on the lines of special trains. Till now, the railways has been running more than 300 express and mail trains that have been catering to people travelling across the country. An official in the know-how informed that these additional special festive trains will, however, operate only till November 30 and will not be continued thereafter. These special trains will be mostly third AC coaches.

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Gujarat: Statue of Unity to welcome visitors from October 17

The Statue of Unity in Gujarat is all set to welcome visitors from October 17, i.e., on the first day of Navratri. Reportedly, the Gujarat state government will be reopening the site in Narmada district, with strict precautionary measures in place. Located in Kevadia, the Statue of Unity is the world's tallest statue and was closed down in March following the COVID-19 pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown. As per the order issued by the government, only 2500 tourists will be permitted to visit this spot every day, of these only 500 will be permitted to go up to the viewing gallery. This measure will be in place to ensure adequate social distancing and that the spread of the virus is prevented. As per reports, there will be five fixed slots of two hours each for entry every day. Further, only 500 visitors will be allowed to enter in each slot, of which only 100 would be allowed to go to the viewing gallery that is located at 193 m. One will be allowed entry in specific slots as per the ticket bought by them. While the first slot would start at 8 AM, the last slot has been fixed at 4 PM. Those planning to visit this spot will need tickets, which will be available in two-hour slots from the authorised ticketing website www.soutickets.in. Do note that no tickets will be issued manually, i.e., from the ticket windows at the site. Further, all basic COVID protocols like hand sanitising, wearing masks, and maintaining physical distancing will have to be followed by the visitors. The special hop-on hop-off buses will be available to facilitate the travel of visitors. Also, the authorities have already opened the Children’s Nutrition Park and Jungle Safari from October 10, which the visitors can opt to visit when here.

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Social distancing from gorillas—Uganda to welcome tourists with some quirky, some serious guidelines

Uganda is set to welcome international tourists, and all the gorgeous national parks in the country are reopened to visitors. All that’s required is a negative COVID-19 PCR test report (taken within 72 hours of entering the country). For those planning to visit the national parks, there is an important thing to remember one must keep in mind which is physical distancing, not only from humans but also from chimpanzees and gorillas in the parks. National park authorities in the country have advised adventure seekers and gorilla trackers to maintain a 32 ft distance from the primates and 6.5 ft from other visitors in the park. Apparently, Uganda is known to be a natural habitat for more than half the world’s population of endangered mountain gorillas. These animals are extremely dear to the country and are highly protected. Thus, the administration doesn’t want to risk animal’s safety at any cost. Uganda is renowned for its beautiful national parks such as the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to list a few. Tourism Uganda has advised travellers from other nations to arrive at the airport at least four hours before departure so that there’s enough time for COVID-19 screenings. Moreover, Coronavirus negative results are required at both the times, arrival and departure. Other than these rules, wearing a face mask is mandatory at all times in the airport and while exploring the country’s national parks. The park admin in their advisory has asked visitors to bring two N95, surgical, or double-layer cloth masks with filters if they want to explore the parks. Temperature checks will also take place at the entrances. Anyone with symptoms will be immediately transferred to an isolation center.

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Thailand plans quarantine travel for foreign tourists

  • Oct 14,2020
  • AA

Thailand is planning to allow short-term tourists to travel to designated areas in some provinces during their 14-day coronavirus quarantine period, an official said on Tuesday. However, residents of the provinces must approve the new Alternative State Quarantine scheme before it can be introduced, said Thares Krassanairawiwong, head of the health service support department. Provinces that are ready to reopen must also make sure that routes for foreign visitors will not be used by local residents, he said. “Foreign visitors must accept travel routes set by the provinces. Most importantly, they must come from countries with low risk of COVID-19 and no local infections in the last three months,” he explained. Tourists must stay in home quarantine for 14 days before leaving for Thailand and test negative for COVID-19 three days before departure. “They have to book flights and accommodation through travel agents only. Hotels where they stay must be hotels with SHA [Safety and Health Administration] standards,” Thares added. Tourists will be required to use tracking devices and be accompanied by representatives of COVID-19 response agencies at all times. The official said the new quarantine scheme was part of efforts to boost tourism and help stimulate the economy of Thailand, where 3,643 virus cases, including 3,457 recoveries and 59 deaths, have been reported to date. Many provinces have shown an interest in the plan, including Chon Buri, Buri Ram, Rayong, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, and Surat Thani. Thares said that eligible provinces must have adequate public health systems and hospitals with the capacity to treat COVID-19 patients. According to him, some 2,000 hospital rooms and 13,000 hotel rooms are available for foreign visitors on leisure and business trips. “We are confident that international travelers will be able to visit Thailand from Oct. 15 onwards. We are ready to reopen,” he said.

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India-Mexico Discuss Ways to Enhance Tourism

To strengthen trade ties, India and Mexico will explore ways to promote tourism and enhance people to people contact. This was decided at the fifth meeting of the India-Mexico Bilateral High-Level Group on Trade, Investment and Cooperation (BHLG) held earlier this month, an official communique said on Tuesday. “Both sides discussed a number of bilateral ongoing and outstanding issues, ranging from ‘Audio-visual Co-production, Bilateral Investment Treaty’, market access for agricultural products, a cooperation framework on ‘Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) & Technical Barriers to Trade’ (TBT) measures between the two countries, co-operation in the ‘Intellectual Property Rights’, and exploring ways to promote tourism and people-to-people contact between India and Mexico,” the communique said. “They also agreed to expand and diversify the bilateral trade relationship to tap the potential of the complementarities between India and Mexico through enhanced cooperation in pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, healthcare, agro-products, fisheries, food processing, and aerospace industry, etc.” (IANS).

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