Tag Archives: Italy

ITA Airways has made its debut in the Canadian market with the launch of its new nonstop connection between Toronto and Rome. The inaugural flight took off today from Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport at 4:40 pm. To celebrate the launch of the new intercontinental route, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the departure gate of Terminal 1 in Toronto Airport in the presence of Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer ITA Airways and CEO of Volare, Luca Zelioli, Consul General of Italy, Ivana Jelinic, CEO of the Italian National Tourist Board ENIT, Gianluca Caramanna, Member of Italian Parliament and Advisor to the Minister of Tourism, Kurush Minocher, Executive Director, Customer Experience and Airline Relations, GTAA, Vincent Crisanti, Councillor, City of Toronto, Pierfrancesco Carino, VP International Sales ITA Airways and Massimo Allegri, Regional Manager Americas ITA Airways. “The launch of ITA Airways’ flights between Canada and Italy comes in response to the significant demand for travel between the two nations, driven in part by the substantial Italian Canadian population – stated Emiliana Limosani, Chief Commercial Officer, ITA Airways, and CEO, Volare. – With our direct flight, we plan to transport to up to 2 million of Italian Canadian passengers who travel between Italy and Canada annually. Toronto, in particular, serves as a pivotal gateway for our airline, facilitating not only point-to-point travel but also connections to various destinations within both countries, thereby catering to both leisure and business travelers – added the CCO – This underscores ITA Airways’ commitment to delivering optimal travel solutions to our Clients. The new route has already garnered impressive results in terms of bookings, with over 30,000 passengers booked between May and September.” “The inauguration …

Italy has launched a new national airline, Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA), in place of Alitalia, which closed down after reporting huge losses recently. ITA flew its inaugural flight on 14th October and unveiled its brand and logo, which showcase the red, white and green of its predecessor Alitalia. However, it will be a low-cost airline. ITA won Alitalia’s iconic brand for 90 million euros, nearly one third of what Alitalia was hoping for, the carrier said late on Friday.

VFS Global is re-opening Visa Application Centres in some cities for specific visa categories. Countries for which visa services will resume are United Kingdom (from July 6), Italy (July 3), UAE, Turkey, Ireland, Belarus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Norway, Portugal and South Korea. Applicants will have to schedule an appointment in advance on www.vfsglobal.com. After specific Embassies/Consulates as well as local authorities have given their approval, VFS Global’s centres will accept visa applications for select countries with strict health and hygiene SOPs in place.

Alitalia will increase number of flights and destinations served in July, operating over 1,000 weekly flights reaching 13 new domestic and international airports that will include Amsterdam, Athens, Boston, Malta, Nice, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Tunis and in Italy, Brindisi, Florence, Lampedusa, Pantelleria and Reggio Calabria. Alitalia will operate 60 per cent more flights compared to June, and double the number of services compared to May.

The city of Venice is enjoying crystal clear waters in its world-famous canals due to a lack of debris from tourists and near-zero boat traffic under Italy’s ongoing coronavirus lockdown. The clear waters are a tiny bright spot in the beleaguered but beautiful city, whose economy has been virtually wiped out since tourists fled the area beginning last month. Since 9 March, the city like the rest of Italy has been a so-called ‘red zone’. That has had a drastic effect on Venice’s normally polluted waters, where speedboats churn up mud, and discarded plastic and other garbage from tourists float in its canals.

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.

The percentage shares of top 15 source countries availing e-Tourist Visa facilities during November, 2019 were highest from UK (12.22%), followed by USA (10.75%), China (8.06%), Russian Fed (7.85%), Malaysia (5.71%), France (4.61%),Germany (4.60%), Australia (4.16%), Canada (3.85%), Thailand (3.25%), Italy (2.32%), Singapore (1.87%), Spain (1.64%), Vietnam (1.50%) and Israel (1.40%), reveals Ministry of Tourism.

VFS Global has launched mobile biometrics service for customers applying for Italian tourist visa across India, enabling them to submit applications, documents, and enrol biometrics from any location of their choice. This ‘doorstep’ service can be delivered to individuals and groups living in all cities in India. A team of VFS Global staff will visit the customer at the location to collect their visa application and enrol biometric data. They will also be available to assist with any visa application queries. Submissions from large tour groups, business delegates and school trips wishing to travel to Italy, will especially benefit from this  new service, as applicants will not be required to visit a Visa Application Centre to submit their applications. The documents, once processed with the visa decision will be returned by courier to the customer’s desired location. The mobile biometrics service is optional and applicants will have to pay an additional fee. According to the Embassy of Italy in India, 555,000 travellers from India visited Italy in 2019, which indicated a 15 per cent increase over the previous year.

Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region has declared a state of emergency after a massive a 1.8-metre flood devastated the tourist hotspot and killed at least two people. An estimated 85 per cent of the city is underwater, sparking concerns over damage to ancient mosaics and artworks. Saint Mark’s Square was submerged by more than one metre of water, while the adjacent Saint Mark’s Basilica was flooded for only the sixth time in 1200 years – sparking fears for millions of dollars’ worth of artwork. The city’s Mayor has blamed climate change for the ‘dramatic situation’.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has awarded VFS Global the global tender to provide visa services in eight out of nine regions worldwide. It will operate for the Netherlands government in Africa, North America, Central and South America, Asia and Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Western Europe, and India. VFS Global has worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since 2006 and will provide Schengen visa services, Caribbean visa services, long-stay national visas, Dutch Travel Documents and Civic Integration Exams under the new contract. Chris Dix, Head—Business Development, VFS Global, said, “VFS Global is delighted that we will continue to serve the Netherlands Government. We have enjoyed a strong partnership with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs for well over a decade, and welcome this opportunity to enhance our service capabilities on their behalf. We look forward to opening our facilities in 40 new locations to offer Netherlands visa applicants best-in-class visa solutions and a seamless application process.” Since August 2018, VFS Global has signed visa service contracts with nine existing and new clients, and governments from Europe to extend their visa service network. This includes contracts to provide additional visa services for client governments such as Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia and The Czech Republic.