Category: Travel

73% decline in foreign travellers visiting UK in 2020

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Post date 26 May 2021
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The dramatic impact of Covid-19 on the number of UK-bound travellers was revealed for the first time in the study published on Monday by the Office for National Statistics…reports Asian Lite News

A new study has revealed that foreign travellers made 11.1 million visits to the UK in 2020, a 73 per cent decline than in 2019 in the wave of the border restriction imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The dramatic impact of Covid-19 on the number of UK-bound travellers was revealed for the first time in the study published on Monday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

During 2020, overseas residents spent 6.2 billion pounds ($8.76 billion) on their visits to the UK, 78 per cent less than in 2019, ONS said.

Meanwhile, UK residents made 23.8 million visits abroad in 2020, 74 per cent less than the previous year and they spent 13.8 billion pounds on such travels, 78 per cent less than in 2019.

ONS said travel and tourism statistics are usually based on the results of the International Passenger Survey (IPS), but the survey was suspended in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

The new figures published by ONS for April to December 2020 have been based on administrative sources and modelling by statisticians.

The figures were added to data collected in the three months before the pandemic.

According to ONS, visits by North American residents decreased by 78 per cent to 1.2 million, visits by European residents were down by 71 per cent to 8 million and visits by residents of “other countries” outside of Europe and North America decreased by 76 per cent to 1.9 million.

ALSO READ: UK starts preparations for trade negotiations with India

Tags UK

-Top News COVID-19 Travel

Boeing to set up field hospitals in India

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 16 May 2021
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The aerospace major has been in talks with five state governments to provide such facilities in their jurisdictions, reports Rohit Vaid.

Aerospace major Boeing has tied-up with state governments along with NGOs to set up field hospitals in India to treat Covid patients.

Accordingly, the aerospace major has been in talks with five state governments to provide such facilities in their jurisdictions.

In the last few days, Boeing India has reached out to UP, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu state governments.

The initiative as part of Boeing’s India Covid relief commitment envisages setting up of such facilities in each of five states which are facing the pandemic resurgence.

As part of the programme, the funding, land and utilities, facility, equipment, doctors as well as medicines will be provided through a partnership model by the joint effort of Boeing, the concerned state government and NGO partners, ‘Doctors for You’ and ‘Care USA’.

The state governments will provide the infrastructure and utilities while ‘Doctors for You’ will provide the medical infrastructure and staff.

The first such facility is expected to come as soon as possible.

“We are in conversations with local and international relief organisations to deploy Boeing’s $10-million emergency assistance package to support India’s Covid-19 response,” said Salil Gupte, president, Boeing India.

“As part of that effort, we’re working with medical, government and public health experts across India to provide relief, including medical supplies and emergency health care to communities most impacted.”

Last month, Boeing announced a $10 million emergency assistance package to support India’s Covid-19 response.

At present, Boeing has 3,000 employees in India.

The company develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defence products for customers in domestic civil and military sectors.

Lately, India has been heavily battered by record new daily increases in coronavirus infections, prompting lockdowns and restrictive measures.

The exponential rise in new coronavirus cases in India has been termed as a humanitarian crisis.

IndiGo inoculates all op staff

Airline major IndiGo is set to become the first domestic airline with an all inoculated operational staff.

Accordingly, the airline in anticipation of rising travel demand on the back of accelerated vaccination programme has initiated the internal inoculation drive.

Besides, the company wants to restore confidence in not just the travelling public but also in operational crew members, front office and ground handling staff.

vaccine jabs

Recently, Centre allowed for a liberalised vaccination phase under which private entities can procure vaccines at market regulated prices.

These jabs can then be administered under medical supervision to the company’s staff.

According to IndiGo’s Chief HR Officer Raj Raghavan: “We are fully committed towards the vaccination of our entire workforce, including our subsidiary Agile, as soon as possible.”

“As of today vaccination drives have already commenced aggressively across 35 stations and we are in the process of including more stations.”

Presently, the airline has around 23,000 employees, including employees belonging to its subsidiary Agile, all of whom, it plans to inoculate

Furthermore, the company is also providing time off to crew members upon vaccination as per guidelines.

ALSO READ-Boeing 737 MAX is safe: European regulator

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EU member states urged to ease travel curbs

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 5 May 2021
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Non-essential travel regardless of individual vaccination status is currently permitted from seven countries with a good epidemiological situation…reports Asian Lite News.

The European Commission has called on the member states of the European Union (EU) to grant entry to travellers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and those coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation.

“The Commission proposes to allow entry to the EU for non-essential reasons not only for all persons coming from countries with a good epidemiological situation, but also all people who have received the last recommended dose of an EU-authorised vaccine,” the EU’s executive arm said in a statement on Monday.

It added that a vaccine approved by the World Health Organization should also be accepted, reports Xinhua news agency.

Non-essential travel regardless of individual vaccination status is currently permitted from seven countries with a good epidemiological situation.

The Commission called for “continued vigilance” in view of the emergence of coronavirus variants of concern and proposed the use of a new “emergency brake mechanism,” which would limit the risk of such variants entering the EU.

The proposal will be discussed this week at the Council of the EU.

In March, the Commission proposed the adoption of a digital certificate that can prove that the holders are either Covid-19 negative, vaccinated or recovered from the disease.

The certificate system is being negotiated among EU institutions and could be finalized by summer to salvage the bloc’s tourism industry.

Earlier, World Health Organisation’s (WHO) regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said that more Europeans have been vaccinated against Covid-19 than have been confirmed to be infected.

“Based on numbers of confirmed cases, 5.5 per cent of the entire European population has now had Covid-19, while 7 per cent has completed a full vaccination series,” Kluge said in a press release.

To date, some 215 million vaccine doses have been administered in Europe, he said. Approximately 16 per cent of the WHO European Region’s population has received the first vaccine dose.

The WHO European Region has so far registered 51,506,373 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 1,076,173 deaths.

Medical professionals returning back on duty abroad wear protective gear and Personel Protective Equipment (PPE) suits as they arrive to board a flight at the Indira Gandhi International Airport

Despite the recent decline in new cases, hospitalizations and deaths, Kluge reiterated his dire warning to citizens in the region to be vigilant and remain “conscious of the fact that vaccines alone will not end the pandemic.”

“Without informing and engaging communities, they remain exposed to the virus. Without surveillance, we can’t identify new variants. And without contact tracing, governments may need to reimpose restrictive measures,” Kluge said.

Also Read-EU extends critical support to India

Tags covid, EU, pandemic, restriction, travel

-Top News Asia News Travel

Int’l flights reduced to 20% in Pakistan

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 2 May 2021
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Inbound air traffic will operate at 20 per cent of the total current quantum, while there is no change in the existing Category C list countries…reports Asian Lite News

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday issued an advisory reducing the number of inbound international flights to 20 per cent to curb a further rise in Covid-19 cases.

“Amid high disease prevalence in various parts of the world and current disease situation in the country with corresponding extreme stress on the critical care system. Pakistan has decided to significantly reduce inbound International Air Travel from 5 May to 20th May,” said the NCOC in a statement on Twitter.

It was not immediately clear which routes and air carriers will be affected.

The NCOC said that the decision will be reviewed on May 18.

Inbound air traffic will operate at 20 per cent of the total current quantum, while there is no change in the existing Category C list countries.

“Pakistani passport holders (stranded/short term visa) are allowed to travel to Pakistan subject to exemption by the committee as per procedures in vogue,” the NCOC statement read.

All inbound travellers to Pakistan, including those from the Category C list countries, must have a negative repeat PCR test before travelling to Pakistan (maximum 72 hours old) while a rapid antigen test will be done on arrival at the airport.

Negative cases will undergo 10 days of self-quarantine at home with stringent TTO protocols, Geo TV reported.

Pakistan

The statement said that positive cases will be shifted by the provincial/ district administration to a self-paid facility for 10 days quarantine with TTO of contacts (if any) and a repeat PCR test will be conducted on the 8th day of the quarantine period.

In case of a negative result, the passenger will be allowed to proceed home. However, in case of a positive result, the passenger will either undergo an additional quarantine period or be shifted to hospital as per the advice of health authorities.

The NCOC stated that registration on the Passtrack App by all inbound travellers before travelling to Pakistan is mandatory, however, deportees are exempted from registration on the app.

Pakistan has seen record deaths in recent days from the coronavirus, and stricter restrictions on movement and gathering in public are planned for the upcoming Eid holiday.

Officials are worried the country’s health care system, already under strain, could reach breaking point if more contagious variants of the virus begin to spread, as has happened in neighbouring India.

On Saturday, authorities reported 4,696 new confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours and 146 deaths from the disease.

More travel miseries as UAE suspends flights from India

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 22 April 2021
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The travel ban includes inbound transit passengers with exception of transit flights coming to the UAE and heading to India, the GCAA said in a statement on Thursday … reports Asian Lite News

More countries are taking action against India as the Covid cases surge in Delhi and other places. The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) have announced the suspension of all inbound flights for national and international carriers coming from the Republic of India.

The travel ban includes inbound transit passengers with exception of transit flights coming to the UAE and heading to India, the GCAA said in a statement on Thursday.

The GCAA indicated that it is required for those coming from India through other countries that the period of stay in those countries is not less than 14 days to be allowed to enter the country, as of 23:59 on Saturday, April 24, 2021, for 10 days that can be extended.

Cargo flights between the two countries will continue, as usual, the statement added.

The GCAA affirmed that nationals of the UAE and diplomatic missions between the two countries, official delegations, businessmen’s planes and golden residence holders are excluded from this decision, provided that they should take preventive measures that include a 10-day quarantine and a PCR test at the airport as well as another test on the fourth and eighth days of entering the country. According to the decision, the period of PCR test is reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours, provided that the tests issued by accredited laboratories bearing the QR Code are accepted.

This comes in response to the proactive precautionary and preventive health measures issued by all concerned authorities in the country to limit the spread of the COVID pandemic-19, the statement added.

The GCAA said, “The decision to suspend flights came after studying and evaluating the epidemiological situation in the friendly Republic of India and within the framework of continuous coordination and cooperation with all relevant authorities inside and outside the country that continuously monitor developments in the situation to maintain the security and safety of civil aviation.”

The concerned authorities, under the umbrella of the NCEMA, follow up the global situation to take appropriate decisions that ensure the continuity of the work system within the country, while at the same time reducing the risk of the spread of the pandemic.

The authority called on all travellers affected by the decision to follow up and communicate with the airlines to amend and schedule their flights and to ensure their safe return to their final destinations without any delay or other obligations.

Tags covid, emirates, India, travel ban

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Only vaccinated pilgrims allowed in Mecca

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 6 April 2021
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Permits for Umrah and to visit the Grand Mosque will be granted to those who have received two Covid-19 vaccine shots…reports Asian Lite News

Only pilgrims and worshippers who have been vaccinated against the novel coronsvirus or have recovered will be allowed into the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabias Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced.

Permits for Umrah (Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca) and to visit the Grand Mosque will be granted to those who have received two Covid-19 vaccine jabs; those who have received a first dose at least 14 days before their visit to Medina and Mecca; and those who have had the virus and recovered, Arab News quoted the Ministry as saying on Monday.

Before embarking on a trip, a visitor’s vaccination status will have to be registered on Saudi Arabia’s Covid-19 app, ‘Tawakkalna’, which was launched last year to track the Covid-19 situation in the Kingdom.

British Airways to launch digital vaccine passports

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 15 March 2021
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British Airways (BA) will introduce digital vaccine passports in time for the return of international travel in May, when Britons are allowed to travel for their holidays, a media report said on Sunday.

The airline will ask those who have had two doses of a coronavirus vaccine to log their vaccination details with their BA app, said a media report.

The new BA decision was announced at a time when the Scottish Labour Party revealed passengers are bypassing the Scottish government’s hotel quarantine system by flying from other airports in Britain, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Holidays will not be allowed until May 17 at the earliest, the British government has said, but before that, on April 12, Britain will announce how and when non-essential travel into and out of the country can resume.

Sean Doyle, who was appointed BA’s chief executive last October, called on Britain to work with other governments to allow vaccines and health apps to open up travel, after a year when minimal flying has left many airlines on life support.

“I think people who’ve been vaccinated should be able to travel without restriction. Those who have not been vaccinated should be able to travel with a negative test result,” he said.

On February 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his long-anticipated “roadmap” exiting the lockdown. The Monday reopening of schools in England was the first part of the four-step plan, which Johnson said was designed to be “cautious but irreversible”.

Other parts of Britain, including Wales and Scotland, have also unveiled plans to ease the restrictions.

Experts have warned Britain is “still not out of the woods” amid concerns over new variants and the risks of the public breaching restriction rules.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.

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Train Fares Rise above Inflation

Post author By Newsdesk
Post date 1 March 2021
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Millions of train passengers in England and Wales will be hit by higher fares from Monday onwards as fares are expected to rise above inflation for the first time in eight years.

Ticket prices will increase by around 2.6 per cent, leading to accusations that the UK government is “pricing the railways out of existence”, Xinhua news agency quoted the Evening Standard newspaper as saying in a report.

The price hike represents the Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation from July 2020, plus 1 percentage point, according to the newspaper.

Increases in around half of fares, including season tickets on most commuter routes, are regulated by the British, Scottish and Welsh governments, media reports said.

Passengers in Wales face a similar increase, whereas the Scottish government is implementing smaller rises of 1.6 per cent and 0.6 per cent for peak and off-peak travel respectively, the report said.

Examples of the potential fare hikes include a Brighton-London annual season ticket going up by 129 pounds ($180) to 5,109 pounds ($7,154) and a Manchester-Glasgow off-peak return increasing by 2.30 pounds ($3) to 90.60 pounds ($126), said the Evening Standard newspaper.

Fare hikes in England have mirrored RPI since January 2014, but the Department for Transport (DfT) axed the policy due to the “unprecedented taxpayer support” handed to the rail industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The British, Scottish and Welsh governments took over rail franchise agreements from train operators in March 2020, following the collapse in demand for travel caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is expected to cost the government alone around 10 billion pounds by mid-2021, said the newspaper.

Fares usually become more expensive on the first working day of every year, but the 2021 rise was deferred due to the pandemic, said the newspaper.

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Hotel Quarantining Introduced to Arrivals in UK

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Post date 15 February 2021
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All British and Irish citizens and UK residents who arrive in England after being in a high-risk Covid country now have to quarantine in hotels, officials said.

The “red list” of 33 countries includes Portugal, Brazil and South Africa. The new regulations, which aim to stop Covid-19 variants entering the country, apply to arrivals who have been in one of those places in the past 10 days, the BBC reported on Monday.

They will have to pre-book and pay 1,750 pounds to spend 10 days quarantining in the government-sanctioned hotels.

That covers the cost of the hotel, transport and testing.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the emergence of new variants meant the government “must go further” with its travel restrictions.

The government says it has struck deals with 16 hotels so far, providing 4,963 rooms for the new quarantine system, with a further 58,000 rooms currently on standby.

“The rules coming into force today will bolster the quarantine system and provide another layer of security against new variants at the border,” Hancock said.

The health secretary added that the measures were “important to protect our vaccination programme”.

On Sunday, the government announced that more than 15 million people in the UK had received their first coronavirus jab, in what the prime minister described as a “significant milestone”.

Meanwhile, all travellers arriving into Scotland from abroad by air – rather than just those from the 33 “high risk” countries – now have to go into quarantine hotels.

People travelling from red list countries to Wales and Northern Ireland will be required to book and pay for quarantine in England, as neither destination has any direct international flights.

Any passenger required to stay in a quarantine hotel in England needs to reserve a room online in advance using a government portal.

The additional rate for one extra adult or a child aged over 12 is 650 pounds, and for a child aged five to 12 it is 325 pounds.

Those who fail to quarantine in such hotels face fines of 5,000 to 10,000 pounds, while anyone who lies on their passenger locator form about having been in a country on the red list faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

A new testing regime for all travellers arriving in England has also started, with two tests required during the quarantine process.

They will be required to get a test on days two and eight of their 10-day quarantine period, whether they are isolating at home or in a hotel. The tests, conducted by NHS Test and Trace, will cost travellers 210 pounds.

Those who do not take the tests could face a 2,000 pounds fine.

On Sunday the government said another 258 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to 117,166. There were another 10,972 confirmed cases.