After resuming departure operations at 18.30 hours UAE local time (8PM IST), Dubai Airports commenced arrival operations at Dubai International Airport (DXB) under restricted capacity following an operational incident involving an Emirates flight EK521 from Trivandrum (India) on August 3. According to a Dubai Aiports spokesperson, DXB is operating with one runway, with arriving flights being given priority over departures. While all 282 passengers and 18 crew on board were brought to safety, one member of Dubai Airports’ firefighting team succumbed to injuries sustained whilst responding to the incident. Paul Griffiths, CEO, Dubai Airports, said, “I am deeply saddened to confirm that a member of Dubai Airports’ firefighting team succumbed to injuries sustained whilst responding to the accident of flight EK 521 earlier this afternoon [August 3]. We are doing all we can to support the family of this member of our team and others affected by the incident.” The Emirates Airline confirmed a network wide delay and cancellation of 21 flights from Dubai on August 3 to various destinations such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Medina, Doha, Geneva, Tehran, Muscat, Multan, Bahrain, Dammam, Basra, Karachi, Kuwait, Amman, Riyadh, and Hong Kong. Emirates flight EK521 travelling from Trivandrum International Airport in Thiruvananthapuram, India to Dubai on August 3 was involved in an operational incident upon landing at DXB. The Boeing 777 aircraft, departed at 10.19 AM from Trivandrum International Airport and was scheduled to land at 12.50 PM at DXB.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) will soon be providing SIM cards for tourists who avail the e-Tourist Visa (eTV) services, informed Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, MOT, Govt. of India. “We are in talks with a few service providers to partner with us for this and it will be launched very soon,” he said. Referring to the proposed eTV for MICE, he said that eTV for business tourists will most likely be rolled out first. He added the department is still working on other proposed amendments in eTV, such as modifying single-entry to multiple & extension of eTV application duration from 30  to 60 days.

The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) has formed a task force with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) to address and simplify regional connectivity scheme. Vinod Zutshi, Secretary, MOT, Government of India, said, “By working together, we aim to make travelling for tourists much simpler especially for those who opt for the different theme based circuits.” A meeting was held last week between the two ministries to discuss the particulars and address complications that may arise. This would also simplify travel for the transnational Buddhist Circuit which is in the pipeline and has recently been approved.

Ras Al Khaimah recorded a 23 per cent increase in visitors from India during the first six months of 2016 compared to the corresponding January-June period last year, according to the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (TDA).The positive growth trend during 2016 ranks India as the third largest international source market for the UAE’s most northern emirate-up from fourth last year. “Our new brand positioning emphasises Ras Al Khaimah’s natural assets, luxurious indulgence, range of activities for different types of travellers and authentic Arabian heritage and culture – our diverse destination pillars resonate well with Indian travellers,” said Haitham Mattar, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah TDA. In-line with the emirate’s international promotional strategy, RAKTDA recently attended July’s MICE India and Luxury Travel Congress (MILT) in Mumbai, the latest stop in a series of roadshows and familiarisation trips with Indian travel trade partners in the first six months of 2016. The promotional programme in India has targeted the country’s swelling MICE and luxury market, which has witnessed tremendous growth in outbound corporate travel in recent years as more and more corporates recognise the importance of MICE activities as a key driver to engage internal and external customers. “The constant increase in visitor arrivals from India is the direct result of strategic in-market trade missions and industry partnerships to boost market awareness of Ras Al Khaimah’s MICE and leisure offerings, highlight the destination’s diverse tourism proposition and forge smart partnerships with potential buyers,” added Mattar. “We’ve engaged close to 500 of India’s leading trade stakeholders to promote the destination as an ideal choice for the country’s business and leisure travel trade and these activities will continue in the second half of 2016.”

SriLankan Airlines has signed on board Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez as their brand ambassador. The letter of agreement was signed between SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajit Dias and Jacqueline Fernandez on July 30, 2016, at St. Regis Hotel, Mumbai. With this collaboration it made her, the face of SriLankan Airlines and the brand continues to strengthen its presence in India. Speaking on the occasion, Ajit Dias, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines, said “We are delighted to have Jacqueline Fernandez as the Brand Ambassador for SriLankan Airlines. Jacqueline’s strong connect, passion towards Sri Lanka and being an iconic profile in Sri Lanka aligns her naturally with the brand, just like our other two brand ambassadors, Mahila Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.”

London to Delhi and London to Mumbai were among the top five most popular origins and destinations between Europe and APAC for Gulf carriers, according to the data analysed by Amadeus IT Group’s Travel Intelligence team. They came third and fourth, respectively. The report also said that Gulf carriers saw exponential growth of first and business class passenger volumes in 2015. Between 2014 and 2015, first class passenger volumes for Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways on the top 10 Origins & Destinations between Europe and Asia Pacific increased 67 per cent, whilst business class traffic increased by 47 per cent. This staggering growth in premium classes was complemented by healthy overall growth, with a seven per cent increase in passenger volumes across all cabin classes for these routes. Airports in the Middle East also noticed a shift in traveller habits: passenger traffic for flights between Europe and APAC going through Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai increased by eight per cent. This data takes into account all bookings in the Amadeus system made via traditional and online travel agencies from across the globe. The figures come on the heels of Emirates and Etihad Airways both renewing their distribution agreements to sell their full range of fares to travellers worldwide through travel agents using Amadeus. Qatar Airways has had such an agreement in place since 2014.

Sabre Corporation has partnered with Expedia Affiliate Network (EAN) to offer 63,000 new hotel properties to its marketplace. Travel consultants and agencies will now have access to the EAN rates and availability through the Sabre GDS. “Travel agencies will have more hotel options to offer their customers. Additionally, more hotels in the Sabre travel marketplace will have the ability to merchandise their products, property attributes and personalise offerings to travelers. These are just a few ways Sabre provides hoteliers products to differentiate themselves and that is a powerful tool for travel buyers.” said Shelly Terry, Vice President-Travel Product Solutions, Sabre Travel Network. Agents can easily shop and book properties through the Sabre Red Workspace. The additional properties are a wide range of property types, including full-service hotels and resorts, bread and breakfasts and small inns, airport hotels, boutique hotels, budget hotels, and serviced apartments. While the new hotel content covers all regions, many of the properties are in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, typically where hotel property content is known for being highly fragmented. The additional rates and availability from EAN expands Sabre’s robust hotel content of more than 750,000 properties, through the combination of its travel marketplace and network of hotel aggregator partners. Agents will now be able to offer more options to travelers, increasing more business and commission opportunities. “Expedia Affiliate Network is excited to bring thousands of new properties across the globe to Sabre’s valued partner network. Expedia is continuing to grow hotel supply by thousands of hotels each month and the Sabre agent community will have the ability to deliver more solutions to their customers,” states Christian Gerron, Vice President-Sales, Expedia Affiliate Network.

The Delhi International Airport Private Limited (DIAL) has included construction of a new fourth runway parallel to the existing runway in the just concluded Master Plan 2016 of IGI Airport, New Delhi with features to handle large wide body aircrafts, navigational aids and lighting to permit operation in low visibility etc. This information was given by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha in Rajya Sabha.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative SpiceJet announced the launch of Smart Check-in facility using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and NFC (Near Field Communication) technologies. This feature is available for all SpiceJet customers who have booked their tickets through the SpiceJet Mobile App. The customer does not require to carry the itinerary printouts nor has to Key-in the PNR number to initiate Check in if using this App. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Union Minister for Civil Aviation inaugurated the Smart Check in facility at GMR Hyderabad International Airport. The service has been initially introduced at Hyderabad Airport in close coordination with GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL) and will soon be available in all airports supporting e-boarding facility. The airline has set a new benchmark in the country by launching a slew of customer-friendly and innovative products and services using latest technology. This is set to relieve customers from standing in long queues, thus further enhancing their travel experience and offering a seamless journey. Near Field Communication enables passengers to receive their boarding pass on their smartphone when they check-in through NFC-enabled smartphones with SpiceJet’s mobile app. Customers who have booked their tickets using the mobile App will have to simply open the app and touch the mobile device on the NFC Check-in Poster available at the airport to retrieve their mobile boarding pass on their smartphones. Customers can also avail a touchless beacon based check-in to receive their boarding pass on the smartphone. Customers who have booked their tickets through the SpiceJet mobile app will receive an alert as they walk towards the SpiceJet Check-in area provided their Bluetooth and SpiceJet Mobile App are activated. Post acknowledgement of the notification, the customer …

Sikkim has added another feather to its cap with the recent addition of the Khangchendzonga National Park to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites as India’s first ‘Mixed World Heritage Site’. The UNESCO recognition will give a further push to eco-tourism in our state, while also helping us to regulate the high influx of visitors to more popular destinations with only a minimal negative impact of tourism,” said Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling. “This is important since tourist arrivals to our state more than doubled to 38,479 in 2015 and our target is around 12 lakh visitors by 2025,” he said in a statement. The park was initially commissioned in August 1977 with a declared area of 850 Sq km and was extended to 1,784 sq.km some years later. Khangchendzonga National Park had been on the Unesco’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites since 2006, and has among the sharpest altitudinal variations for any site in the world — from a low of 1,220 metres to 8,586 metres — within a small aerial distance of 42 km.