U.S. Mission India has announced that in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, they are cancelling all immigrant and non-immigrant visa appointments from March 16, 2020, onward. Once Mission India resumes regular consular operations, appointments will be made available and all will be able to reschedule. Please see www.ustraveldocs.com/in and in.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/ for further information or refer to the below links. https://in.usembassy.gov/alert-cancelling-of-immigrant-and-nonimmigrant-visa-appointments/ https://in.usembassy.gov/public-access-to-american-spaces-india-closed-until-further-notice/ U.S. Mission India posts, in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic, are cancelling immigrant and nonimmigrant visa appointments from March 16, 2020, onward. More here: https://t.co/xDACtcz8lp — U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) March 14, 2020

Kumud Singh, GM, Jaypee Greens Golf and Spa Resorts, Greater Noida, says, “Heath and well being is our foremost priority, our team members and all who are visiting our property is our main concern, we are vigorously monitoring novel coronavirus and responding based on the best advice of medical professionals and public health authorities. Safety measures have been followed by the team . Cleaning and disinfection have been thoroughly monitored in all the surfaces which are visibly contaminated with body fluids all potentially contaminated high-contact areas such as bathrooms, door handles, floor, chairs, telephones, grab-rails in corridors and stairwells has been disinfected using disposable cloths,  paper roll and disposable mop heads. All operators have been additional cleaned by using sanitizing sprays and wipes to use on vehicle surfaces during their routes, while hand sanitizer dispensers have to been kept refilled.”  

As a result of the coronavirus and the measures implemented by national authorities, the demand for air travel is virtually non-existent. SAS has therefore decided to put most of its operations on hold, starting on Monday 16 March and until the necessary conditions for commercial aviation return. To help our customers, SAS will, as far as possible, maintain a certain level of operation over the next few days to enable travelers to return from different destinations . We will be at the disposal of the authorities, at their request, to bring stranded citizens home or maintain community-critical infrastructure for as long as possible. This also means that SAS is unfortunately forced to temporarily reduce its workforce by up to 10,000 employees, corresponding to 90% of the workforce . The temporary reductions will affect all parts of SAS and will be implemented in accordance with national legislation in each country . SAS implements these measures in order to return to normal operation as soon as the situation permits.

Lufthansa Group Airlines Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti are expanding their existing, comprehensive rebooking options in the interests of their customers due to the exceptional circumstances caused by the spread of the coronavirus. Customers who have tickets for cancelled and also existing Lufthansa Group Airline flights can keep this ticket without having to commit to a new flight date directly. Existing bookings will be cancelled for the time being, but the ticket and ticket value will remain unchanged and can be rebooked to a new departure date up to and including 31 December 2020. This rule applies to tickets booked up to and including 12 March 2020 and having a confirmed travel date up to and including 30 April 2020. Customers are requested to inform us of their desired rebooking by 1 June 2020. No rebooking fees will be charged. If the original fare is no longer available, the corresponding difference must be paid when the rebooking is made. In addition, customers can also rebook to another destination. With this extended goodwill arrangement, Lufthansa Group Airlines are responding to the wish of many customers to be able to have more flexibility regarding their travel plans given the current exceptional circumstances. Last week, the Lufthansa Group already introduced flexible rebooking options for its customers with regard to existing and future bookings. More information is available at lh.com. In addition, customers can contact the service hotline at any time on +49 (0) 69 86 799 799 to change their reservations.

Aeroflot has adjusted its flight schedules to destinations in Europe. From 16 March, Aeroflot will continue to operate flights from Moscow to the following destinations in Europe: Amsterdam, Athens, Belgrade, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Dublin, Geneva, Helsinki, Larnaca, Lisbon, Ljubljana, London, Madrid, Paris, Riga, Rome, Sofia, Stockholm, Tivat and Zagreb. Aeroflot has temporarily suspended flights between Moscow and the following cities: Barcelona (21 March to 30 April) Bukhara (16 March to 30 April) Chishinau (19 March to 31 March) Copenhagen (17 March and subsequently from 21 March to 30 April) Frankfurt (19 March to 30 April) Munich (19 March to 30 April) Oslo (18 March to 30 April) Prague (20 March to 30 April) Samarkand (16 March to 30 April) Tallinn (19 March to 30 April) Tashkent (16 March to 30 April) Thessaloniki (16 March to 30 April) Vienna (20 March to 30 April) Vilnius (19 March to 30 March) Warsaw (15 March to 27 March) Zurich (19 March to 30 April) Aeroflot will continue operating the following flights to allow Russian citizens to return to Russia: Prague – SU2012/SU2013 and SU2016/2017 (16 to 19 March) Frankfurt – SU2300/2301 (16, 17, 18 March), SU2304/2305 (16, 17 March) and SU2656/2657 (18 March) Munich – SU2322/2323 (16, 17, 18 March) Barcelona – SU2638/2639 (16, 17, 18, 19, 20 March), SU2512/2513 (16, 17, 19, 20 March) and SU2514/2515 (18 March) Zurich – SU2486/2487 (16-18 March) Copenhagen – SU2658/2659 (16, 18, 19, 20 March) Oslo – SU2174/2175 (16-17 March) Chishinau – SU1844/1845 (16-18 March) Vilnius – SU2108/2109 (16-17 March) Warsaw – SU2002/2003 (16-18 March) Tallinn – SU2106/2107 (17-19 March) Vienna – SU2184/2185 (17, 18, 19 March), SU2352/2353 (17, 19 March) and SU2354/2355 (18, 19 March) Scheduled Rossiya Airlines flights operated under Aeroflot’s SU code from St Petersburg to EU destinations including Larnaca, Prague and Vienna, as well as to …

Tourism New Zealand welcomes Indians with its new campaign creative and announces the expansion of tourism industry partnership for quicker visitor visa application processing. Inspired by the fact that New Zealand is one of the first places to see the sunlight of a new day, Tourism New Zealand, as part of its 100% Pure Welcome – 100% Pure New Zealand, has released a content series with ‘Good Morning World’ messages shared by locals welcoming visitors from their favourite spots across the country. The campaign showcases what makes New Zealand unique as a holiday destination – the warm and friendly people, stunning landscapes and variety of things to do. In order to support this, a trade webinar is being hosted today at 1430hrs to help increase the travel agents’ destination knowledge of New Zealand. Those who are interested in participating can get in touch with Jaspreet Kaur for further information either via email at jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com  or call  9650196532.

Finnair is cancelling all flights to the US between 19 March and 12 April due to the US Government’s travel restrictions. Finnair is also cancelling its flights to Delhi between 15 March and 14 April due to recent visa restrictions. Finnair flies from Helsinki to New York and back until 18 March, in order to fly customers home. For flights departing 14 – 18 March, restrictions on Schengen passengers going to the US will be in effect as specified by the US authorities. Finnair also flies to Los Angeles on Sunday 15 March and to Miami today, 12 March. Finnair is continuously following the impacts of the coronavirus situation. Due to the decreased transfer passenger loads caused by these cancelations, further impacts on Finnair’s narrow-body traffic in Europe are to be expected. Finnair will communicate these changes once such decisions are made. Finnair will communicate flight cancellations directly to customers who have bookings on these flights. Customers can then either seek for a full ticket refund or postpone their travel by contacting Finnair’s customer services. Unfortunately, the customer service lines are very congested at the moment, so we suggest customers who don’t have bookings for immediate departures to contact Finnair’s customer services at a later stage. In addition, Finnair is offering customers with bookings on Finnair flights full flexibility to change their travel dates without a change fee until 30 November, 2020.

Air France has taken note of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s announcement of new United States border restrictions as of 14 March 2020. Flights to and from the United States are operating as normal on 13 March 2020. From 14 to 28 March 2020 included, Air France plans to continue operations to Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, San Francisco and Washington. Air France is working with its partners KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic on implementing a plan to continue service to the United States for its customers beyond 28 March 2020.

In light of recent travel restrictions imposed by various governments, including Singapore and Australia, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, AirAsia is making the following provisions available for guests who are unable to travel due to their travel history, nationalities or respective travel bans. 1. Move flight: One-time flight change to a new travel date on the same route within 90 calendar days from the original flight time without additional cost, subject to seat availability; OR 2. Credit account: Retain the value of your fare in your AirAsia BIG Loyalty account for future travel with AirAsia. The online credit account is to be redeemed for booking within 365 calendar days from the issuance date for your travel with us. The actual travel dates can be after the expiry date as long as our flight schedule is out. The above options are available for flights ticketed prior to 7 March, for flight departure until 30 April. Guests who wish to choose any of these options when making voluntary changes to their travel plans may do so via support.airasia.com.  Meanwhile, guests whose travel plans are affected by restrictions or cancellations are advised to refer to the Covid-19 Refund Request Guide. AirAsia assures that the safety and wellbeing of our guests and Allstars is our top priority. AirAsia is complying with advice and regulations from the local government, civil aviation authorities, global and local health agencies, including the World Health Organization. AirAsia is closely monitoring the public health situation and reserves the right to announce further policies according to the latest developments.

Suhail Kannampilly, CEO, The Fern Hotels and Resorts, says, “In these uncertain times, I wanted to reach out to you personally about what we are doing here at The Fern Hotels &; Resorts to support you and your travel plans. As the situation around novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, we are doing everything we can to ensure your travel safety and provide maximum flexibility.” Safety for guests As it has always been, the safety and security of our guests and team members remains our highest priority. We take great pride in maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene. In response to the coronavirus, we have taken additional measures developed in consultation with global and local public health authorities (including the WHO) to make our cleaning and hygiene protocols even more rigorous: · Our hotel teams are receiving ongoing briefings and enhanced operating protocols. · Front desk have been equipped with infrared thermometers  necessary to check all guests. Travel Flexibility for Guests We remain committed to offering you flexible booking options. Given these unique circumstances we are making additional adjustments to our individual booking policies to give you extra peace of mind: · Government Restrictions. In regions affected by government-issued travel restrictions, we will continue to waive change dates or offer full refunds. · Existing Reservations. All reservations – even those described as ;non-cancellable (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are scheduled for arrival before April 15, 2020, can be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival. · New Reservations. Any reservation you make – even those described as “non-cancellable” (“Advanced Purchase”) – that are booked between today and April 15, 2020, for any arrival …