Czech Republic and Slovakia has stopped accepting visa applications from India with immediate effect, confirms Rajan Dua, MD and Co-founder, Udaan India. The Czech government has declared a 30-day state of emergency as of March 12. It has also banned foreigners from 13 high-risk countries from entering the country.

Singapore Airlines and SilkAir have made additional temporary reductions to selected services across our network in response to a fall in demand due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Details of the affected flights can be found here.

In accordance with the ordinance of the Federal Minister of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection about measures concerning the entry from SARS-CoV-2 risk areas, the form issued has to be filled by individuals declaring their health status.

Mount Everest has shut down for the rest of the expedition season because of the coronavirus outbreak. Nepal’s government announced that it would cancel all climbing permits from 14 March until 30 April. China had already cancelled expeditions from the northern side of the mountain.  

Shanghai Disney has taken the first steps toward reopening the resort after temporarily shuttering in late January. It has opened limited shopping, dining and recreational experiences but not the actual Shanghai Disneyland theme park. Shanghai Disney Resort has reopened the Shanghai Disneyland Hotel, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park.

India’s revised travel advisory and visa restrictions related to COVID-19 will not affect the Nepalese movement to India by any means, the Indian mission in Nepal said on Thursday. India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ‘revised travel advisory’ and ‘visa restrictions related to COVID-19’ announced by India had raised concerns about the movement of Nepali nationals to India as Nepal has been dominantly relying on its southern neighbour for materials of daily consumption as well as employment. In a statement released late on Thursday, the Indian mission in Nepal said, “The current measures are solely for the purposes of managing public health and safety. These measures do not currently have any impact on normal travel of Nepalese nationals to India, either by air or by existing land routes. Existing travel arrangements for Nepalese nationals will, in other words, remain unaffected.” “However, there will be intensified health inspections at all entry points and any traveller, Indian, Nepalese or from third countries presenting COVID-19 symptoms or with recent travel history to one of seven COVID-19 outbreak countries may possibly be subject to quarantine if so required,” the release further said. Keeping in view the ramifications of the current global spread of coronavirus on public health and safety, New Delhi on Wednesday inducted health safety measures for foreign and Indian nationals entering into and exiting from India. The measures included halt in visa issuance for tourists and non-diplomatic staffs as set criteria to mitigate the further spread of coronavirus in the country. ANI

Under the direction of government authorities of the State of Qatar, entry to Qatar is temporarily suspended as of 9 March 2020 for all those travelling from the following countries: Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand. This decision comes as a preventive measure due to the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide. It affects all individuals intending to enter from these countries, including visas upon arrival, those with a residence or work permit, and temporary visitors. Issue: stopovers The safety, security and good health of our passengers, employees, and the wider community in Qatar is our highest priority. Qatar Airways is working closely with global and national authorities to implement the latest advice and guidance on COVID-19 (Coronavirus) and operate our services accordingly. Due to the rise on Coronavirus cases around the world, we are placing a temporary hold on stopover services in Doha for the purpose of connection, booked through our partner and subsidiary, Discover Qatar, or booked directly through qatarairways.com. Passengers with onward connections will not be permitted to leave Hamad International Airport (HIA). It is with regret that we must inform our valued customers that all current stopover bookings will therefore be cancelled. A full refund will be offered, with support offered to make alternative travel plans with Qatar Airways.  

LOT Polish Airlines has released its updated advisory on 13.3.2020. It reads as below: “With regard to the spread of coronavirus 2019-nCoV, we would like to inform you that LOT has initiated a number of measures to mitigate the negative impact of this situation on the company’s operations. The safety of passengers and employees does remain our utmost priority. While planning our current flight operations, we follow up on Member States’ guidance on country-specific travel regulations. Due to the current situation and lower demand in travelling in certain directions, we have made decisions regarding selected medium and long-haul routes: Flights from Warsaw to Milan and Venice – remain suspended until 3rd April; Flights from Budapest to Seoul – remain suspended until 8th April; Flights from Warsaw to Beijing – remain suspended until 25th April; Single frequencies of flights to Tel Aviv from Warsaw and Polish regional ports – will be limited until 24th April; Flights from Warsaw and Budapest to London-City; from Cracow to Bucharest; and from Warsaw to Zaporozhia – will be suspended in the coming days until 24th April; The launch of the route from Warsaw to Ostrava – will be postponed to 1st September; Additionally: the frequencies of flights on selected medium and long-haul routes will be limited – until 24th April; Flights to the USA: We are monitoring the situation and adapting our route network to the decision of the American authorities to suspend air traffic between Europe and the USA. Our teams are currently working on solutions adapted to the new regulations and our transport capacity. LOT’s passengers and employees are our highest priority. We will keep you posted on the operational decisions taken. Passengers are being informed about all changes in …

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, Air France and KLM have been doing everything possible to assist their customers and allow them to postpone or cancel trips planned to/from areas with a risk of exposure. The airlines are now going further and extending these measures to their entire network, for reservations to come and bookings already made. Customers can thus book their trip with peace of mind, with the guarantee of being able to modify their booking at no extra cost if they wish to do so. Under these terms, for all Air France or KLM tickets purchased on or before 31 March 2020 for travel between 6 March and 31 May 2020, regardless of original ticket conditions and destination, it will be possible to  postpone tickets at no extra cost until 31 May included, to the same destination and in the same travel class. Passengers who wish to postpone tickets beyond 31 May 2020, change their destination or cancel their journey will be offered a non-refundable voucher valid for one year on all Air France and KLM flights. This measure also applies to all tickets already issued for travel between 6 March and 31 May 2020.   Details of these measures are available at all Air France and KLM points of sale and can be consulted at airfrance.com and klm.com [i] Electronic ticket number beginning with 057 or 071.

The International Dark-Sky Association, a non-profit charged with preserving natural night-time environment, has declared that the tiny South Pacific nation of Niue is the first country to be accredited as an International Dark Sky Place. There are 130+ such dark sites across the world but never has the honour been bestowed on an entire country.