Tag Archives: Italy

Italy’s new national airline ITA launched in place of Alitalia, but as a low-cost carrier

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.

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VFS Global to begin limited operations at select VACs in 11 cities

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.

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Alitalia to increase flights and serve more destinations in July

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.

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ITALY: Tourist-free Venice now has cleaner canals

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.

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AI cancels Kuwait flights, curtails Europe, S Korea & Sri Lanka operations till 30th Apr

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.

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UK tops the list of source countries availing e-Tourist Visa facilities in November 2019: MOT

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.

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VFS Global launches mobile biometrics services for Italy visa applicants across India

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.

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Venice floods turn deadly, devastate tourist spots

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’.

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VFS Global to provide visa services for the Netherlands in eight regions, including India

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.

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HollandCity Global Travel Trade Show 2019 to be held in The Hague & Delft on October 8

At the first HollandCity Global Travel Trade Show in the Hanseatic City of Zwolle, Carola Muller–van Rijn, Global Travel Trade Manager, NBTC Holland Marketing, informed, “The next edition of the travel trade show will be held in The Haugue and Delft on October 8, 2019.” NBTC Holland Marketing and MarketingOost welcomed over 100 international travel organisations with a goal to put the Netherlands on the map with international travel organisations as an attractive travel destination. In addition to 105 international tour operators from India, Russia, Brazil, Japan, China, Indonesia, Italy, Germany and other countries, there were 75 organisations from the tourism sector as well, including museums, hotels, attractions, events venues and restaurants. Expressing happiness with the growth from the Indian market, Muller says, “In terms of growth, India is our second fastest growing market, after Russia. The Netherlands welcomed 165,000 visitors from India last year registering a growth of 31 per cent and we are expecting 24 per cent growth from India this year.”

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