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GoAir announces new direct flights to Colombo from Delhi and Bengaluru

In continuation of its expansion in South Asia, GoAir – Asia’s most trusted, punctual and fastest growing airline – has announced its new direct flights from Delhi to Colombo and Bengaluru to Colombo. GoAir’s maiden flights to the capital city of Sri Lanka will commence from 20th March 2020. The airline has introduced these two new routes with attractive return fares starting at Rs 14,019 for Delhi-Colombo-Delhi flights and Rs 9,934 for Bengaluru-Colombo-Bengaluru flights. Sri Lanka is the most sought-after destination in South Asia and GoAir’s new flights will help Indian travellers to visit the culture and flora & fauna of the country as well as explore the scenic streets and rich tradition of Colombo. Including Colombo, GoAir has 118 direct flights from Delhi and 48 direct flights from Bengaluru to domestic and international destinations. The sales window for newly launched routes is already open and tickets can be booked on www.goair.in, GoAir mobile app, and GoAir airport counters. Speaking on the new flight announcement, Mr. Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said: “Our entry into Sri Lanka is in line with the growth strategy that we adopted since 2018 for international markets. India and Sri Lanka share a close relationship that goes beyond 2,500 years. There is a common interest of business, cultural, religious, and linguistic interaction between both countries. The Delhi – Colombo and Bengaluru – Colombo flights will help travelers to explore the beauty & legacy of India and Sri Lanka, strengthening the bond of friendship between the two nations. GoAir is the aviation foray of India’s 283-year-old Wadia Group that comprises leading brands including 156-year-old Bombay Burmah, 140-year-old Bombay Dyeing, 101-year-old Britannia Ltd., 65-year-old National Peroxide Limited, the decade old Bombay Realty and many others. GoAir currently operates 300+ daily flights and the airline has carried 81.27 million passengers since its inception in 2005. GoAir’s daily flight (except Wednesday) G8 39 will depart from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10:35 hours (local time) and will reach Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo at 14:10 hours (local time). The return flight G8 40 will depart from Colombo at 15:10 hrs (local time) on all days (except Wednesday) and arrive in Delhi at 19:00 hours (local time). Delhi-Colombo-Delhi direct flight schedule, effective 20th March 2020: Flight No. From Departure (Local Time) To Arrival (Local Time) Frequency Return Fare (RS) G8 39 Delhi 10:35 Colombo 14:10 Daily, except Wednesday 14,019 G8 40 Colombo 15:10 Delhi 19:00 Daily, except Wednesday GoAir’s flight G8 47 will depart from Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport at 20:05 hours (local time) on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday and at 20:20 hours (local time) on Saturday and will reach Bandaranaike International Airport, Colombo at 21:55 hours (local time). The return flight G8 48 will depart from Colombo at 23:00 hrs (local time) on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and arrive in Bengaluru at 00:30 hours (local time). Bengaluru-Colombo-Bengaluru direct flight schedule, effective 20th March 2020: Flight No. From Departure(Local Time) To Arrival(Local Time) Frequency Return Fare(Rs) G8 47 Bengaluru 20:05 Colombo 21:55 Mon, Thu, Fri, Sun 9,934 G8 47 Bengaluru 20:20 Colombo 21:55 Sat G8 48 Colombo 23:00 Bengaluru 0:30 Mon, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun GoAir flies to 36 destinations that include 27 domestic destinations namely Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bagdogra, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Kochi, Kolkata, Kannur, Leh, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Patna, Port Blair, Pune, Ranchi, Srinagar and Varanasi, as well as 9 international destinations namely Phuket, Male, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuwait, Dammam and Colombo.

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Honolulu festival cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak; Hawaii sees $23 million drop

The government of Hawaii has formed a special committee to tackle the fallout to Hawaii’s economy of the coronavirus. And that fallout has already started. The travel industry professionals have said that corona virus outbreak from China that has spread to all continents except Antarctica has brought stagnation for the travel and tourism sector. So far this week, three large events slated for Honolulu have been postponed or cancelled, including the Honolulu Festival. This year, Honolulu festival was scheduled to take place this Friday through Sunday. It is according to the officials that they decided to cancel the popular festival in response to recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control, the Japanese government and Hawaii state officials. Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced plans to cancel, postpone or scale back large cultural or sporting events for the next few weeks. Hiroyuki “Keith” Kitagawa, president of the Honolulu Festival Foundation said, in a statement that there are currently no cases of the coronavirus in Hawaii. However, considering the precautions and recommendations being made by government health officials to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, canceling this year’s Honolulu Festival is the responsible action to help protect the public’s safety. The three-day festival was expected to draw thousands of visitors throughout the Pacific Rim. This popular festival includes cultural performances, events, a parade and the popular Nagaoka Fireworks Show. Earlier, the organisers had cancelled their opening reception as well as the fireworks show. The announcement comes just a day after organizers of another festival in Honolulu — the 13th Festival of the Pacific Arts & Culture — announced it would be postponed due to coronavirus concerns. Meanwhile, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism reported there is a $23 million drop in visitor expenditures last month and a 7.3% decline in international passengers. It gives a serious blow to tourism. It’s not yet known how significant a toll the outbreak will take on Hawaii’s tourism-driven economy. But after setting up the special committee, House Speaker Scott Saiki noted the major hit Hawaii took during the Great Recession. To tackle a massive shortfall, lawmakers cut public employee salaries, shortened the school week and cut millions of dollars from social programmes.

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Agra: Screening 30k people at Taj Mahal for Coronavirus not possible, says ASI

Amid the Coronavirus scare and six people testing positive for the same in Agra, locals and tour operators are concerned about its impact on people visiting the monument every day. Also, as per the latest reports, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stated that they don’t have the equipment or technology to screen the estimated 30000 visitors, who visit the monument every day. This statement comes after the growing scare of Coronavirus that has gripped Agra, with the infected people being transferred to Delhi for further treatment. Referring to this, ASI official said that there is no special equipment or technology at the monument to screen that number of tourists. The official also informed that if anyone is visibly found having symptoms of extreme fever, cold and cough, they need to inform the health department and get checked. At this point of time, locals opine that Taj Mahal, one of the popular tourist hotspots, should remain closed for some time. However, the tourism industry thinks otherwise, as they believe that closing the monument for the visitors would send a wrong message across the world and that there should be arrangements for screening the tourists at Taj Mahal. The ASI official also added that they cannot do much until someone informs them, further stating that the airport is already using thermal imaging technology for tourists coming to India as part of precautionary measures and an advisory has also been issued to hotels.

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Coronavirus: India suspends visa for travellers from four countries

In wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases globally, the government of India has announced temporary suspension of visas and e-visas granted on or before Tuesday to people travelling from Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan, effective immediately. As reported by Aljazeera, confirmed number of cases from these countries include 80,134 from mainland China; 1501 from Iran; over 270 in Japan and 4,335 in South Korea. The Indian government has said in a fresh advisory that “those requiring to travel to India due to compelling reasons, may seek fresh visa from nearest Indian Embassy/Consulate.” India has reported three new cases of coronavirus — one in New Delhi who had travelled to Italy; one from Telangana with a travel history to Dubai and an Italian national in Jaipur. This takes the total to six positive cases in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has advised to ensure self-protection.

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Coronavirus update: Tokyo Olympics might be postponed till the end of 2020

Amid growing concerns over Coronavirus outbreak, latest reports coming in state that Tokyo Olympics might be postponed until the end of the year. Olympics Minister Seiko Hashimoto told the lawmakers that as per Tokyo’s contract with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), it actually allows them to delay the games till the end of the year. While responding to a lawmaker’s question in the Parliament, the Olympics Minister said that the contract calls for the games to be held in 2020, which could also be interpreted as allowing a postponement. However, under the hosting agreement, IOC has the right to cancel the games. However, last week, IOC President Thomas Bach stated that this organisation was fully committed to holding the games as per the schedule despite the spread of Coronavirus. Currently, the Tokyo Olympic Games are scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 9, 2020, and both IOC and Japan have insisted that they will be hosting the event as per the schedule, as any halt to the games would turn out to be a costly affair. Reports also suggest that the test events for Olympic games have been cancelled because of the said virus outbreak in Japan, and that IOC Vice President Dick Pound has suggested that the games might be called off if the virus is not contained till the month of May. Currently, there are no signs of virus’ abating, and Japan’s National Broadcasting Organisation recently reported that the number of infections in the country is also increasing. While protestors in Japan are calling for cancelling the event amid the virus outbreak, Coronavirus has already impacted a number of sporting events, including the calling off of Ireland’s Six Nations game against Italy as well as doubts over hosting of Euro 2020.

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India-Sri Lanka ferry service to take off soon: Union minister

PUDUCHERRY: In order to promote tourism, the ministry for shipping has mooted a proposal to start ferry service between Karaikal in the Union Territory of Puducherry and Jaffna in Sri Lanka covering a distance of 56 nautical miles (103.7 kilometres). Shortly after chairing a meeting with ministers and government officials of Puducherry, Union minister of state for shipping Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday addressed a press conference saying that the project is expected to take off in three to four months. Lok Sabha MP V Vaithilingam, who was present at the press meet along with the Union minister, said it would take around three hours for one-way ferry trip and would cost around Rs 6,5000 to Rs 7,000 for a round trip. Some investors have already expressed interest with their proposals, he Kandasamy added. Mandaviya said hundreds of Tamil-speaking people from Sri Lanka come to India on pilgrimage. Besides, many Sri Lankans also visit India to see Buddhist sites. The ferry service will facilitate their visit. It will not only give boost to tourism, but will also improve bilateral cooperation between the two countries, he said. A ferry service between India and Sri Lanka was operated between Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka, over a distance of 30 nautical miles. After the 1964 cyclone destroyed infrastructure at Dhanushkodi, the service was operated from Rameswaram. In 1984, the Union government suspended the service due to the rise of ethnic conflict in the island nation. In more recent years, the TN government has been looking at a fresh site at Rameswaram to resume operations. The project would be on public-private partnership (PPP) basis, where the operator would run the service, Karaikal Port will be the facilitator and the central government would extend support, Mandaviya said, adding, to take the proposal forward, a committee under chief secretary along with secretary (port) would be constituted at the earliest. The committee would go into the nitty gritty and submit a report. Issues related to immigration, customs and NOC by agencies concerned will looked after by the Union government, the minister added. It is a major tourism project that will help in the development of Karaikal, said Puducherry Health and Tourism Minister Malladi Krishna Rao. Chief Minister V Narayanasamy and his ministers, who wanted to implement such a project, are happy to see the Union government initiating it. The project will bring business and economic development to Puducherry, said port minister M Kandasamy.

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