World’s First Parallel Airline Company ‘WINAIR’ has just been formed in India. A parallel airline is a new concept that means utilising an existing operator who has equipment (Aircraft, NOC, NSOP) and an operating permit. In short, the aircraft are leased utilising their license and viable routes are planned. In other words, it is just like utilising the idle hours of the existing airlines. This is the first time in the world that such a module is being framed by an Indian. Samuel Timothy, Chairman & Managing Director, Winair Aviation, says, “The term ‘WINAIR’ means We Indian Nationals. The Indian aviation story is all set to undergo a huge change in the coming year and the markets are going to grow faster than they were ever before. The growing number of airports, the increasing per capita income, and the fierce competition resulting in one of the lowest ticket prices globally has boosted the number of people traveling by air.”

Nilesh Shah, President, Travel & Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), reveals that international charters – the main artery for travel business in Goa – restarted from December 2021 from Russia and Ukraine. “From Moscow we are welcoming almost 500 passengers every ten days and we expect this to increase. However, the charters from Ukraine have paused for the time being due to the third wave and the civil unrest there. Moreover, TUI was to send four flights per week from the UK – two from Manchester and two from Gatwick. This unfortunately got cancelled because of the third wave. They were to start from January 20, 2022. But we remain hopeful and with the new private airport in Mopa which will be operational by the next season, I think the charter movement will see a boom as there will be no restrictions,” he shares.

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has thanked the MOT and MoCA for reinstating the Commercial Airport Entry Airport Pass (AEP) for recognized tour operators and hotels. “We have been trying for a long time and now the orders have finally come. Now, at least when the borders open, our members can apply for airports passes in the same manner as they used to earlier, except there has been some capping on the number of passes available, for which we were given indication two years back, when the airport passes were being suspended,” he said.

Tata Sons have announced that Ilker Ayci has been appointed the CEO & MD of Air India. The Air India board met this afternoon to consider the candidature of Ilker Ayci and N Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Sons, was a special invitee to the meeting. The board approved the appointment after due deliberations. Before taking up this role, Ilker Ayci, was the Chairman of the Turkish Airlines and he was on the board of the company prior to that. Ayci will assume his responsibilities on or before 1st April 2022.

Britain has unveiled a £10 million global tourism campaign, called the GREAT tourism campaign, at Expo 2020 Dubai in a bid to strengthen close trade ties with the UAE. The global initiative is aimed to drive inbound tourism to the UK, as the country gears up for a year of big events including Queen Elizabeth II’s platinum jubilee celebrations and the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. The launch event was hosted by Visit Britain, and was held before UK National Day at Dubai Expo 2020. The tourism campaign will highlight major British events this year, set to be global visitor draws, especially the queen’s platinum jubilee, the Commonwealth Games and ‘Unboxed’, a UK-wide celebration of creativity. VisitBritain also hosted senior trade delegation from India in Dubai at a roundtable with Dame Judith Macgregor, Chairperson, VisitBritain, along with West Midlands Growth Company in the afternoon before the launch of new GREAT tourism campaign. The delegates included Sunil Suresh, Chief Marketing Officer, MakeMyTrip; Anoop Kanuga – Chairman, Tourism Services Committee at TAAI; Jitul Mehta, Chairman, Western Chapter, TAAI and Riaz Munshi, President, OTOAI.

Effective 4am, 11 February 2022, major changes to UK’s coronavirus (COVID-19) travel rules have come into force, which will make international journeys cheaper and easier for passengers ahead of the half term. Eligible fully vaccinated travellers arriving in the UK no longer need to take any COVID-19 tests – resulting in the UK having one of the most free-flowing borders and open societies in Europe. Hence, they only need to fill out a simplified passenger locator form, confirming their vaccination status, travel history and contact details. Also, arrivals who do not qualify as fully vaccinated will only need to take a pre-departure test in the 2 days before they depart for the UK and a PCR test on or before the end of day 2 after they arrive in the UK, as well as completing the passenger locator form. These passengers will not need to self-isolate on arrival and will only need to do so if they test positive. Changes come as children aged 12 to 15 in England can now prove their vaccination status or proof of prior infection for outbound travel with the digital NHS COVID Pass. Sally Balcombe, CEO, VisitBritain said, “Britain’s tourism industry is ready to welcome international visitors, we know there is pent-up demand for travel and our priority is to build back visitor spending as quickly as possible, competing hard for international visitors who contribute billions to our economy. Our £10 million global GREAT Britain marketing campaign is already rolling out across our major overseas markets, showing that Britain is packed full of fresh and exciting experiences to come and enjoy today. This year’s landmark events including HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Commonwealth …

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have released a new set of protocols and SOPs for international travellers, airlines and all points of entry (airports, seaports and land border), under which, effective February 14, there will be a uniform health protocol applicable to all international travellers. Travellers entering India would have to upload self-declaration form on Air Suvidha along with a copy of RT-PCR report within 72hrs OR Certificate of full vaccination. Two per cent of pax on flight will be randomly selected for screening. However, the government has removed the requirement for quarantine unless tested positive during random screening. A reciprocal agreement for recognition of vaccination certificates between India and 82 named countries has been released and the ‘at risk’ doesn’t exist anymore for any country, with rules being uniform for all countries.

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, at a post-budget interaction with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, put forth the difficulties being faced by civil aviation, travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. He requested her to consider granting infrastructure status to these sectors to facilitate lending by banks and financial institutions. He also requested the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s support for inclusion of Aviation Turbine Fuel under GST. The FM gave a positive response to consider these issues.

Australia has announced that it will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated tourists from February 21. The announcement has been made by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. “It’s almost two years since we took the decision to close the borders to Australia,” Morrison said during a media briefing.

Union Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar has said that e-passports will be launched only after ensuring efficacy of its data security features. “Testing of samples of the proposed e-passports is underway to ensure that they are secure,” he said while replying to questions of the members’ in the House.