News

UK Rail: New timetables off to terrible start with widespread cancellations & delays.

The new rail timetables promising more trains and faster journeys have got off to a disastrous start, with widespread delays and cancellations. The improved schedules took effect in the early hours of Sunday morning, 15 December. GWR said that the amendments have come about because an unusually high number of rail staff are not available to work. The disruption was particularly bad in West Wales. The train company told passengers: “Due to a shortage of train crew between London Paddington and Carmarthen fewer trains are able to run. Many services between London Paddington and South Wales will terminate short of their destination, with services also likely to be cancelled.GWR passengers between Penzance and London are being told to use local services on the Exeter-Plymouth-Penzance stretch, as some long-distance expresses have been cancelled. Elsewhere, improvements appear to be taking effect with few problems. On CrossCountry four weekday and five Saturday trains between Birmingham and Newcastle will run considerably faster, saving travellers up to half-an-hour. Stansted Airport and Norwich become connected with hourly trains. A new link between Halifax in West Yorkshire has been launched. On the East Coast main line, there are more direct trains from Harrogate in North Yorkshire to London.

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USA, UK and France top list of visitors to Dubai in Q3 2019.

Travellers from the USA, UK and France topped the list of visitors to the UAE in the third quarter of 2019, according to the latest data from Expedia Group. The top ten feeder markets for the UAE also included India, China, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Italy and Brazil. Figures for Q3 2019 showed particular demand from Brazil and Portugal, reflecting the Emirates codeshare partnership with LATAM Airlines and direct flights to Porto, announced earlier this year. While travellers from China showed a 50 percent year-on-year growth in package demand. A surge in arrivals into Dubai was recorded over the summer months resulting in 12.08 million international overnight visitors in the first nine months of 2019, according to data released by Dubai’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing. According to the Central Bank's Q3 Economic Review and Dubai Tourism data, approximately 56.3 percent - or 6.8 million - of tourists who arrived in Dubai between January and September 2019 stayed at the emirate's hotels.

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American Airlines Cancels Boeing 737 Max Flights Until April.

American Airlines has removed the Boeing 737 Max plane from its schedule until at least April. American Airlines said in a statement it was in “continuous contact” with regulators and Boeing, but they would extend the cancellation of the plane “based on the latest guidance.” The carrier estimates this will result in about 140 flights cancelled each day through April 6. Southwest Airlines and United Airlines, which both count the 737 MAX in their fleet, have cancelled flights on the troubled jet until at least March. "Boeing reaffirmed with the FAA that safety is our top shared priority, and we committed to addressing all of the FAA's questions as they assess MAX certification and training requirements,” the company told NPR. “We will work with the FAA to support their requirements and their timeline as we work to safely return the Max to service in 2020."

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Jewar Airport in NCR is expected to start new air routes, lower air fares.

The International Airport in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh, will promote the aviation sector as soon as it is ready by 2023 by declogging the Delhi Airport, and also extending air services to a larger section of the National Capital Region’s population. Reportedly, industry experts expect that the Jewar airport project will help airlines to start new air routes and add volume to the Delhi sector. News has it that the Jewar Airport will be situated around 80 km south of Delhi. With six runways, Jewar airport will become the biggest airport in India. It will also have a metro train line just like the Delhi International Airport.

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India to develop water villas in Lakshadweep, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Indian Government’s think tank, Niti Aayog, along with UT administration has issued Rest for Qualification documents regarding plans to develop water villas at India’s popular island destinations, such as Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The project is estimated at INR 150000 crore for both land and water villas. According to reports, new infrastructure would also be included, such as airports, sea places, floating jetties, and even helicopter services. According to the proposal by Niti Aayog, the water villas are to have 125 rooms, and they will be constructed on Minicoy, Suheli, and Kadmat Islands of Lakshadweep. On the other hand, 460 rooms have been proposed for land villas in the Aves Island, Smith Island, Long Island, and Shaheed Islands in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indian tourists have been travelling to the Maldives in search of an aquatic adventure because water villas are a big draw here. Now, with the new project in the pipeline, India could have its own water villa paradise for both domestic and international travellers.

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Airlines cancel flights to Guwahati, Dibrugarh; railways suspend train services to Tripura, Assam.

Multiple airlines have cancelled scheduled flights to several parts of Assam in view of the ongoing protest over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill or CAB in the state. Prominent airlines, including Vistara, SpiceJet, IndiGo, and GoAir have already announced free rescheduling of travel date or free cancellation of flights following unrest in the region. Some of the airlines took to Twitter, such as Vistara, and stated, “As per government advice due to current disturbances in Assam, flight UK725 (IXB - DIB) and UK726 (DIB-IXB) are cancelled for today. We are offering free change/ cancellation to Guwahati and Dibrugarh flights through Sunday, December 15”. Further, railways have also suspended all passenger train services in Assam and Tripura, and also short-terminated long-distance trains to the region following protests in the two states over, a railway spokesperson told the press today. An official at Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport informed that all flights between Kolkata to Dibrugarh sector have also been cancelled due to the current tense situation in Assam.

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