Category Archives: Aviation

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the Company today announced the decision to postpone the launch of service to Bengaluru, scheduled to start during the summer schedule of 2020. Note 1 – Customers holding a reservation will be contacted by a company representative. Note 2 – Launch date will be determined based on the status of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

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.

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.

LOT Polish Airlines starting from March 6 introduces a free of charge option to postpone and change the date of travel for Passengers who have purchased LO tickets in individual tariffs only. A passenger with a LO (080-) ticket purchased on/before March 31, 2020, valid for journeys from March 6, 2020 to April 24, 2020, regardless of their destination, has the option of changing the travel date at no extra cost until December 31, 2020, provided that the same route and booking class are maintained. 1. REBOOKING A free change of the travel date can take place provided that the same route and booking class as used in the original ticket are kept. If the Passenger chooses a date and flight on which the original booking class is not available, Passenger needs to pay the fare difference. Change fees are waived. The rules apply equally to all types of PLL LOT individual fares. All changes must be handled on a voluntary basis. Whenever a change of itinerary is done in accordance with the above, it is necessary to add the OSI element in the following format: OSI LO WAIVER2020 In case of ticket reissue it is mandatory to add FE WAIVER2020 in the endorsement restriction box of the e-ticket. 2. REFUND In the event that the Passenger does not want to take advantage of the option of changing the date of travel free of charge, any refund of the ticket may only be made in accordance with the applicable fare conditions used in the original ticket. 3. ROUTING CHANGE Change of route is not allowed. Standard fare rules apply.

Hardeeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C), Civil Aviation, has advised travellers to voluntarily get themselves checked for COVID-19, in case they have any symptoms. Addressing a press conference on the issue, he said, “My advice to everyone, whether they have gone as a tourists or have come in to India as part of a tour group, if they have symptoms, they should get themselves checked. While the numbers of cases of COVID-19 in India is not very high, we can’t afford to take chances. If someone came in before the universal checking of all passengers at airports started, they should come forward for a check in case of any symptoms. Some people have been identified already, and if they show any signs, they will be immediately tested. We are taking all external precautions needed, and the cabinet secretary is taking meetings every day. Under the overall control of PMO, and the PM personally, we have two groups—one is a group of ministers headed by Mr. Harshvardhan, of which I am a member. There is another group headed by the Cabinet Secretary. Each of these groups meet a number of times to take stock of the situation. It’s a case where all parts of the Government are active and in 24-hour contact with each other.”

IndiGo has announced that it will start operations to Agra with the launch of a direct non-stop flight from Bengaluru on March 5, under the government’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN, revealed William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo. Agra will be IndiGo’s 63rd destination and 86th overall in its network, which also has flight services to 23 international airports. The airline already operates flights to and from Allahabad, Gorakhpur, Lucknow and Varanasi. “It gives us pleasure to announce Agra as the 63rd domestic destination in our network. Operating exclusively under the UDAN scheme, the new services will promote trade and tourism in the region through increased mobility,” said Boulter. With its fleet of over 250 aircraft, the airline offers 1,500 daily flights, connecting 63 domestic destinations and 23 international destinations.

V Ravindran, Regional Manager-India & Bangladesh, SriLankan Airlines, has revealed that they have plans to add Ahmedabad and Calicut to their list of destinations in India. Ravindran revealed, “We are focusing on M!CE from India. We also have some new destinations to be added as per the business plan, but subject to aircraft procurement. Ahmedabad and Calicut are going to be the latest Indian destinations to be connected via SriLankan. With that, we are going to fly to 11 destinations in India, and we will start a minimum of 4 flights a week. We also have plans to operate to Sydney. We are already flying to Melbourne 4 daily flights and we have plans to come start operations to Sydney as well. This will be a good product for the Indian leisure market specifically to Australia.”

Virgin Atlantic will be flying from Delhi to Manchester with services taking to the skies from October 2020 onwards. For the first time, Virgin Atlantic will fly from India to Manchester. Coupled with the airline’s double daily service from Delhi to Heathrow and daily service from Mumbai to Heathrow, the airline will now offer over 600,000 seats per year between India and UK. Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic commented: “2020 marks our 20th anniversary of flying to India and as the destination continues to grow in popularity for both business and leisure travel, we’re thrilled to announce for very first time a new service flying three times a week from Delhi to Manchester, our home in the north.’’

In an effort to further promote the Rann Utsav, Gujarat state aviation infrastructure company limited has added direct flights between Bhuj- Ahmedabad and Bhuj- Delhi from 27th February 2020 till 12 March 2020. The flights connecting Ahmedabad and Bhuj will be operated by Air Deccan and the flights connecting Bhuj and Delhi will be operated by Zoom Air. These new flights and connectivity were promoted at a tour operators meeting in New Delhi.