Ryanair recently has announced the suspension of its full flight schedule to/from and within Italy, following the decision of the Italian Government to “lock down” the entire country to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. These additional cuts will be implemented as follows: From 24:00hrs Weds 11 Mar until 24:00hrs Wed 8 Apr, Ryanair will suspend all Italian domestic flights. From 24:00hrs Fri 13 Mar until 24:00hrs Wed 8 Apr, Ryanair will suspend all Italian international flights.   All affected passengers have received email notices today informing them of these flight cancellations. Passengers looking for repatriation can obtain a free move to an earlier Ryanair flight operating up until midnight Fri 13  Mar. Affected passengers will be able to choose between a full refund or a travel credit that can be redeemed on Ryanair flights in the next 12 months. Ryanair continues to comply fully with WHO and national Government guidance and travel bans. The situation is changing on a daily basis, and all passengers on flights affected by travel bans or cancellations, are receiving emails and are being offered flight transfers, full refunds or travel credits. Ryanair apologises sincerely to all customers for these schedule disruptions, which are caused by national Government restrictions and the latest decision of the Italian Government to lock down the entire country to combat the Covid-19 virus.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister (I/C), Civil Aviation, said that the civil aviation industry has ushered in a new era of expansion, driven by factors such as Low Cost Carriers (LCC’s), modern airports, FDI in domestic airlines, advanced IT, and our growing emphasis on regional connectivity. Speaking at ‘WINGS INDIA 2020’ in Hyderabad today, Shri  Hardeep Singh Puri said, “We are at a point where we need to bring aviation turbine fuel under GST and by and large there is acknowledgement from across states to make it happen.” He further added that the current situation arising out of Corona Virus is a challenge, especially for the civil aviation sector. “It is personally being monitored and directed by the Prime Minister and his office. Within hours of the first evidence becoming available we had started screening passengers coming in from 12 most affected countries. We then increased it to include screening of passengers coming in from any country across the world. Our airports constitute a benchmark for how airports should be running across the globe, specially the 30 airports where proper screening is already in place. We have screened 10,876 flights coming in from across the globe that include 11,71,061 passengers, 3,225 of these passengers required further screening. I am sure that once people get the right perspective, know where we are, look at the recovering numbers, we will not only overcome this challenge, but will see robust vibrant growth in the civil aviation sector.”

In a recent mailer of IndiGo airlines, the airline has- “Here at IndiGo, the safety and health of our passengers, and of our employees, has always been our highest priority. I wanted to help you understand everything we’re doing as an airline to make sure that the risk for everyone in our care is minimised, and that you can continue to rely on us to help you reach your destinations safely and in good health, while also helping to contain the spread of COVID-19. At every stage of your journey with IndiGo, we’re taking every measure possible to ensure compliance with the best advice from medical authorities and the government. The ground staff you meet at our international terminals – at check-in counters and boarding gates – will be wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) appropriate for their role. This gear may include masks, gloves, and shoe covers which are appropriately disposed of at regular intervals. The crew on all aircraft are following personal protective measures as well. Crew members aboard international flights wear PPE – as a mandate – that is changed every 8 hours. And because this disease is most easily transmitted through surfaces, each and every aircraft is cleansed with cleaning agents and disinfectants that are approved by the WHO and Airbus. Areas that are most often touched – tray tables, arm rests, overhead nozzles, lavatories, galleys – are paid particular attention to. On all international flights, we use a disinfectant used to sterilise surgical equipment in hospitals, to clean the cabin and cockpit. This is followed by a thorough fumigation.We have especially taken note of aircraft that have arrived from affected areas and have disinfected each one …

The Park Hotel has released its travel advisory saying, “For us at THE Park Hotels, safety and well-being of our guests and associates is of utmost importance. As novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO); we are closely following guidelines from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and local health departments. These are challenging times for all of us and we at THE Park are committed to support our guests and their travel plans as the situation around coronavirus (COVID-19) continue to evolve. We are taking every possible precaution to keep your favourite hotels safe. Response Plan As a protocol, a strategic preparedness and response plan is in place. All the guests and employees entering our hotels are undergoing body temperature screening, and are being provided with liquid hand wash and alcohol-based sanitizers. The facility of 24×7 doctor-on-call is also made available. We take standards of hygiene and cleanliness very sternly and are ensuring we adhere to the latest sanitization guidelines. Travel Flexibility 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. If you need to adjust reservations made via the THE Park Hotels website, app or call center, please contact the THE Park Hotels Guest Relations team. If you need to adjust reservations made through another travel site, please contact them for assistance. We look forward to seeing you soon at THE Park Hotels. In the meanwhile, if you may need any further assistance, please feel free to call us at 1800 102 PARK (7275).”

According to a recent mailer by Taj- As the situation around the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to evolve, we are constantly monitoring the updates from the World Health Organization and Government agencies. In light of the current situation, we have implemented the following additional precautionary hygiene measures across our hotels based on Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s advisory and guidelines for prevention and transmission. This includes sensitising our associates to the protocol prescribed by the Government authorities, sanitization of all areas, body temperature checks for everyone visiting our premises using non-invasive laser thermometers and increased access to alcohol-based hand sanitizers across locations. In our organization, we believe in having an informed, attentive and careful approach to the situation, and while we take our responsibility of ensuring your safety very seriously, we understand the need for increased flexibility with your travel planning. For your assistance, all Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta hotels are waiving individual cancellation fees for hotel stays through 30 April 2020. In case you wish to modify or cancel your booking, we request you do so on our website or contact us at our Contact Centre at least 24 hours before the stay dates for the waiver. If you have booked through a travel agent or other third parties, please contact your booking provider for information on their cancellation policies. For reservations made as part of a group booking, please contact your meeting organiser for further assistance. We understand that the current situation may limit your ability to travel and stay with us. In view of this, ■ We will pause the expiration of all TIC Points that are due to expire between 16 March 2020 and 30 April 2020 ■ For Members …

An order issued by the Mumbai Police prohibits all types of group tours to domestic or foreign destinations in view of the rising threat of COVID-19 in Maharashtra. The order which came into effect from Sunday, March 15th has restricted both domestic and foreign visitors to travel in groups together for business/holiday till 31st March. If anyone, including private tour operators, required to travel under exceptional circumstances, they may do so after a clearance from Mumbai Commissioner of Police. Contravention of this order is made punishable under IPC by the police.

Ethiopian Airlines has updated health advisory on COVID-19. Rebooking policy: Change fees are not applicable to tickets issued anytime for travel from March 1 2020 onwards till June 30. If there is a difference in airfare o applicable taxes, due to the reissue or rerouting of the ticket, the additional amount will need to be collected. Customers can change the booking to travel on or before December 31, 2020. Refund Policy: Full refund is authorised for travel dates, between March 1 and 30 June 2020. Refund can also be made free of charge by issuing a voucher of equal amount to be used within one year or issue. If voucher latter required to be refunded to cash, it can fully be refunded to cash, it can be fully refunded till 31 Dec 2020. Tour code for all above waivers: HDQ409B Rerouting Policy’ Rerouting is permitted applying the applicable differences in fares, fees and taxes.  

Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, Air India has decided to cancel all its flights to Kuwait till April 30 and curtail services to various other countries, including Spain, France and Sri Lanka. The national carrier currently operates to Kuwait from Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Goa and Mumbai. Under the revised flight schedule, Air India reportedly would operate only two flights on the Delhi-Madrid-Delhi route up to April 30, in place of the existing three. The third flight would remain cancelled between March 17 and April 28. Also, of the seven flights per week between Delhi and Paris now, the carrier has cancelled four services between March 16 and March 30. The other three flights will remain operational up to April 30, he said. The air services to Frankfurt from New Delhi have also been reduced to three per week from seven now between March 16 and April 30 while the Mumbai-Frankfurt services have been restricted to twice a week from March 18 to April 30 from four flights now, according to reports. From March 15, Air India will operate only two flights per week on the Delhi-Tel Aviv-Delhi route as against four services at present. In fact, even these two services on the route will not operate on March 15 and 16.

Nepal has temporarily suspended its visa-on arrival system till the end of April and has also cancelled all the spring mountaineering expeditions, including that to Mount Everest, as precautionary steps to combat the spread of the coronavirus, a government official said here on Friday. A day after the World Health Organization on Wednesday declared COVID-19 as a pandemic, the Nepali government on Thursday took these decisions, Xinhua news agency reported. Nepal has so far reported only one coronavirus case and the infected person has already recovered, according to the Ministry of Health and Population. “Visa-on arrival for nationals of all countries has been suspended until April end,” Bikas Devkota, a spokesperson at the Ministry, told Xinhua on Friday morning. “Suspension of this facility begins on Saturday.” Earlier, the Nepal government had suspended visa-on arrival for nationals of China, South Korea, Japan, Iran, Italy, Spain, Germany and France. Devkota said that the Nepali government has not suspended providing other types of visas. According to the decisions taken by the High Level Coordination Committee formed to combat the COVID-19, even diplomatic and official passport holders who come to Nepal for the first time or return to after staying abroad should stay in self-quarantine in Nepal for 14 days. The Himalayan nation has also suspended the facility of entry through the land routes for foreigners except Indian nationals from March 14 to April 30. “Cross-border movement of Nepali and Indian nationals will be allowed through certain border crossings only,” the decision read. Nepal and India share a porous border and there are more than 100 border crossings between the two neighbours. Regarding the cancellation of the spring mountaineering expeditions, Meera Acharya, Director at …

The COVID-19 virus could potentially cost the industry $46.6 billion per month. That translates into $559.7 billion annually, or 37% of the industry’s total 2020 forecast global spend, revealed a new poll released today by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA). GBTA members routinely send their employees to meetings and events throughout the world, with the primary destinations being North America, Europe, China, and the Asian Pacific region. To understand the coronavirus’ effects on this travel, GBTA conducted a poll of its worldwide membership on February 25, 2020. It received responses from 401 companies.