Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

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 …

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.  

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 …

In a recent mailer, Somon Air has said, “Somon Air is temporarily suspending its operations from Delhi until further notice. However, we are operating a flight on 15th March 2020 and  any Indian or Tajik nationals who want to avail direct services can book the tickets at our office. After the situation is normalised the flight operations will start again.”

Due to outbreak of COVID-19 situation, tickets issued on SriLankan Airlines will be eligible for one free date change as per the condition below: Tickets issued on or before March 31 2020. Ticketed to travel for any date. Irrespective of cabin /journey type/fare type/fully utilised or partially utilised . Fare difference may apply Ticket endorsement” PR006/26JAN20″ All date or flight changes to be finalized by 31st May 2020. No-show fees shall apply for tickets with the suspended coupon status if pax do not attend to travel, inform pax to cancel reservation as early as possible. Cancellation/refund Refund is permitted with the applicable charges (Please refer the fare rule)

Commercial Policy Bulletin by Virgin Atlantic states below: Eligibility only for passengers with an original ticket issue date from 04 March 2020 to 31 March 2020 inclusive Original Travel Date                                    Affected Destination   04 March 2020 – 30 September 2020        VS issued tickets from/to/through All Destinations when travelling on a VS/VS* Flight Number Permitted Travel Period Travel can be rebooked 03 March 2020 – 30 September 2020 Applies to VS and VS* tickets issued between 04 March 2020 and 31 March 2020 inclusive To assist VS/VS* passengers impacted by the global health concerns of the Coronavirus Future Travel Rebooking Options: 1. This policy entitles passengers to one change with the change fee waived only 2. This policy applies regardless of the flexibility of the ticket – for example where a booking is made in Light, this policy will grant one change with the change fee waived, even if typically the booking would be non-changeable 3. When rebooked travel occurs on or before 30 September 2020 the change fee will be waived if ticket is reissued on or before 30 September 2020, though fare difference will apply on the new itinerary, regardless of booking class. If the new quoted fare is lower than the current ticketed fare no refund will be applied 4. No refunds are permitted as part of this policy Class to Class Rebook: Rebooked flights must be in the same booking class that the customer was originally booked in. Example: Customer originally booked in T, new itinerary must be booked in T. Rebooking to JV partners is allowed Class …

Following the implementation of Visa restrictions by India government due to the Corona virus outbreak, Kenya Airways has cancelled flights between Nairobi and Mumbai with schedule change between March 17 and April 15. FOR WHOLLY UN-UTILISED TICKETS Full refund is allowed for KQ210/KQ211 only for travel dated March 17- April 15 2. Refund application should be submitted on or before March 31 2020. 3. endorsement while refunding: Cancellation of KQ(Flight NBR)/ Date FUTURE ITINERARY CHANGES Customers can change to a flight of equal or lesser value with no change fee . If the new fare is of lesser value, there is no refund or residual of the fare difference. If the new ticket is a higher fare, the customer only pays the fare difference