Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI, has said that they are having constant conversations with Pradeep Kharola, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), discussing the issues of the industry and TAAI members. She also revealed that there is a need to make the travel agent business healthier and regular interaction with airlines to start restructuring the processes. “The Secretary (MoCA) has said he would get a meeting done very soon with international airlines and TAAI. That’s what we are waiting for,” she revealed.

Virgin Atlantic has announced its plan to restart passenger flying to 17 additional destinations from August 2020. According to a statement released by the airline, flights from Delhi and Mumbai to London Heathrow start on the 2nd Sept 2020 and will provide connections to a range of US destinations. After the airline’s announcement that services from London Heathrow to Hong Kong, New York JFK, and Los Angeles are expected to resume from 20th and 21st July 2020, Virgin Atlantic has unveiled more detailed plans that will see passenger flying restart to many destinations across the airline’s network. Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic commented: “As countries around the world begin to relax travel restrictions, we look forward to welcoming our customers back onboard and flying them safely to many destinations across our network. From 20th July we will resume services to New York, Los Angeles and Hong Kong then from 1st August onwards, we will resume passenger flying to 17 additional destinations around the world including Delhi, Mumbai and Tel Aviv.” “However, we are monitoring external conditions extremely closely, in particular the travel restrictions many countries have in place including the 14 day quarantine policy for travellers entering the UK. We know that as the Covid-19 crisis subsides, air travel will be a vital enabler of the UK’s economic recovery. Therefore, we are calling for UK Government to continually review its quarantine measures and instead look at a multi-layered approach of carefully targeted public health and screening measures, including air bridges, which will support a successful and safe restart of international air travel for passengers and businesses.” Virgin Atlantic planned return to flying from London Heathrow Terminal 2* (subject …

In a Sri Lanka Tourism Virtual Summit, supported by Spiceland Holidays, Kimarli Fernando, Chairperson, Sri Lanka Tourism, said that her government has nominated a COVID-10 Task Force of which she is a part. “We are completely open to domestic tourists and the auditing process to receive international tourists is currently on. Indian travellers to Sri Lanka now need to apply for visas online and visa-on-arrival has been cancelled for now.”

Malaysia Airlines has introduced an enhanced Economy Class flexible fare options across its entire network for all passengers to enjoy, offering unparalleled safety, security, flexibility and a completely hassle-free, premium experience based on the needs of each customer. Earlier limited to domestic, ASEAN and South Asian destinations, passengers will now have access to three unique fare options (Lite, Basic, Flex), to all destinations except Malaysia to Japan and Japan to Malaysia, Jeddah and Madinah, beginning 22 June 2020. Malaysia Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Captain Izham Ismail said, “With the world slowly recovering from the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as our passengers begin to travel again, Malaysia Airlines seeks to take them to the skies without the burden of worry, with a truly hassle-free experience. Putting their needs as priority, we took the time to listen and gain invaluable insight to our passengers through extensive feedback, and from there we redesigned, redefined and are proud to introduce our enhanced fare family, providing our dear customers with a comprehensive product that caters to their every need, no matter the nature of travels. As the first airline in the Asia Pacific region to fully introduce flexible fare options across our network, these fares will allow greater personalization for our passengers, balancing a simple and intuitive booking experience, alongside unforgettable Malaysian Hospitality onboard and on the ground, creating a stress-free and seamless travel experience. This reaffirms our commitment to putting our passengers first, especially in these uncertain times where passengers may be apprehensive to travel. With this we hope to instill a sense of confidence and trust in them to Fly Malaysia once again.” Regardless of your travel needs, all passengers …

Scott Solombrino, CEO, Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), has been sent on administrative leave by the board of directors of the association. According to an official statement, the association has taken this action to allow further investigation into the accusation alleging racism, misconduct, sexism and misuse of funds on Solombrino.

CLIA to host webinar for Asian travel trade on 24th June on newly launched free of cost online training course ‘Cruise Champion’

A recent survey by Travel Consul, the leading international travel marketing alliance, reveals that to ensure their survival amid the COVID-19 pandemic, most travel trade stakeholders in India (43%) have had to adjust their business model to changing times by focusing more on training programmes (40%) and investing in technology for enhancing both product and customer service (35%). Stakeholders have resorted to improving their current products, designing new products, examining new destinations as well as audiences, and strengthened customer service while even improving the supply base.

An international convention centre ‘Rudraksh’ is being built with Indo-Japan collaboration in Varanasi, which is part of 100 major projects within the financial out flow of around Rs.8000 crores being undertaken in the city. Other projects include hospital buildings, national waterways, ring roads, by-pass, etc. The same was revealed in a statement by Prime Minister’s Office, where the PM reviewed development in Varanasi, which is his parliamentary constituency.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Civil Aviation Minister, has said that he has never been more confident and hopeful about Air India’s divestment plan as he is now. Speaking at a press conference, he said, “Air India is a first-class asset. It has excellent engineers, excellent pilots, covering various destinations, or be it the evacuation of people from Wuhan, Air India has been at the heart of it. I think, we need to make some decisions on nationalisation. We may have lost two or three months because of the pandemic, but we have gained a lot of experience in terms of the value and how to take this forward.”

Turkish Airlines has been the busiest operator in Europe last week after successfully restarting domestic and international passenger operations. On 17th June, 2020, Turkish Airlines had 400 flights in Eurocontrol area, which was the first time an airline recorded that number since 24th March 2020. EUROCONTROL is a pan-European, civil-military organisation dedicated to supporting European aviation. They confirmed that Turkey’s national flag carrier operated 359 flights during the first week of June from its home at Istanbul Airport. On 14th June three aircraft were able to take off simultaneously with the opening of Istanbul Airport’s third independent runway, a momentous occasion for the future of Turkish aviation. M. Ilker Ayci, Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Turkish Airlines, said, “It is our firm belief that once the world overcomes the crisis, air travel will bounce back stronger than ever and Turkish Airlines will be more than eager to welcome you aboard with our trademark hospitality as we connect continents, people and cultures. We fully adapted our customer touchpoints according to new normal standards.” With the resumption of services, Turkish Airlines also announced new ‘Guidelines for Safe Travel’ and two new inflight services to protect the health of its guests. Prepared with scientific data in mind, the flag carrier is distributing ‘Hygiene Kits’ containing a face mask, disinfectant and antiseptic tissue to its guests, while ‘Hygiene Expert’ cabin crews were appointed to flights to enforce all on-board hygiene and social distancing measures for the healthy travel of passengers. Turkish Airlines’ aircrafts are disinfected prior to every flight via thorough cleaning methods. Hygiene in the cabin is ensured as all contact points in the aircraft are comprehensively cleaned using chemicals …