dnata and Singapore Airlines are expanding their long-standing partnership in the UAE. Following more than 45 years of successful cooperation in Dubai, dnata Representation Services, part of the dnata Travel Group, has been selected to provide a comprehensive range of sales, marketing and contact centre services to Singapore’s flag carrier as its general sales agent (GSA) in the Northern Emirates. The expanded partnership will see the team at dnata Representation Services act as the essential link between Singapore Airlines and local trade, supporting its commercial operations beyond Dubai, to extend across Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah and Umm al-Quwain. dnata Representation Services’ vast network, broad marketing, sales and operational expertise, and extensive experience in airline representation will help the carrier enhance its market presence in the UAE amidst a highly competitive business environment. dnata also provides reliable and safe ramp and cargo handling services to Singapore Airlines at Dubai International Airport (DXB). The airline reinstated flights between Dubai and Singapore in January, using one of the newest aircraft in their fleet – the Airbus A350-900. Rashid AlAwadhi, Vice President, dnata Travel Group – Regional, said, “We are proud to be the representation services partner of choice for Singapore Airlines in the UAE. The expansion of our partnership is a testament to our excellent cooperation and outstanding results in Dubai over the past four decades. Our experienced team will work hard to ensure that Singapore Airlines achieves its business objectives and delivers on its growth plans in the country. We continue to go the extra mile to provide best-in-class services for our customers in the region and beyond.” Ryan Yeoh, General Manager Gulf and Middle East, Singapore Airlines, commented, “Singapore Airlines …

Oman Air has launched seasonal service between Muscat and Tbilisi, Georgia, with 2 weekly direct flights (Wednesdays and Sundays), operated with Boeing 737 aircraft. Flights will operate from 16 June 2021 to 16 September 2021, subject to government approvals. The Wednesday flight from Muscat will depart at 20:15 and arrive in Tbilisi at 00:15. The flight from Tbilisi will depart Thursday at 01:15 and arrive in Muscat at 05:00. The Sunday flight from Muscat will depart at 03:30 and arrive in Tbilisi at 07:30. The flight from Tbilisi will depart at 08:55 and arrive in Muscat at 12:40. Oman Air will maintain its comprehensive safety program throughout all elements of the travel journey to ensure that guests fly confidently. Masks are required when guests are onboard the aircraft and in Oman’s airports. Distancing is maintained while guests board and exit the aircraft, which are carefully cleaned after each flight and at the end of every day. Cabin crew all wear a full set of personal protective equipment, meal service has been modified to further ensure safety, and a number of other measures have been implemented to ensure that the airline’s guests and crew are safe at all times. Guests who are planning to travel to Muscat should visit the Civil Aviation Authority website, caa.gov.om, to ensure they are prepared to comply with requirements to enter the Sultanate. Guests travelling to Tbilisi, Georgia should ensure they are aware of official requirements to enter or transit through the country.

Emirates will be providing more choice and comfort for its customers in Bahrain, with the introduction of the first scheduled Airbus A380 service during the month of June. This is the first time an airline operates the double-decker on a regularly scheduled basis to the Kingdom, and demonstrates the operational readiness of the new airport to provide the necessary infrastructure to accommodate for an A380 service.  Flight EK 839/840, previously operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, has been upgraded to the flagship and customer favourite, the Emirates A380. The change of aircraft will help meet growing demand to and from Bahrain during the summer, and underscores the airline’s commitment to make connections for travellers to and through Dubai even easier. In line with the start of A380 services, the airline is also offering special fares to popular destinations for Bahrainis including Dubai, Istanbul and Maldives. Economy passengers can enjoy fares to Dubai starting from BHD 108, Istanbul from BHD 226 and Maldives from BHD 400. Fares in Business Class start from BHD 683 to Dubai, BHD 770 to Istanbul and BHD 1,063 to the Maldives. The offer is valid for booking from today, until 30 June 2021 for outbound travel until 31 December 2021.* Emirates flight EK 837 will depart Dubai daily at 1530hrs, arriving in Bahrain at 1550hrs. The return flight EK 840 leaves Bahrain at 1750hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2000hrs. The Emirates A380 aircraft will operate daily, in addition to an earlier morning service, EK837/838, served by a Boeing 777-300ER. The Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft serving the Dubai-Bahrain route offers a total of 507 seats in a three-class configuration, with 417 spacious seats in Economy Class, 76 fully …

Yas Island Abu Dhabi looks forward to welcoming back travellers from Saudi Arabia to the award-winning destination following the announcement of relaxed quarantine measures for fully vaccinated travellers to the UAE. With improved health measures, Yas Island Abu Dhabi is a destination where visitors of all ages can enjoy unforgettable experiences in a safe environment. Since the start of the pandemic, Yas Island has been reassuring visitors of their safety and well-being during their time at the destination. 95% of eligible team members across the destination have been vaccinated, including attractions, experiences, hotels, restaurants, and retailers in support of Abu Dhabi’s vaccination program. In addition, Yas Island’s theme parks and attractions were awarded the ‘Go Safe’ certification by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, including Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Waterworld Abu Dhabi, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, CLYMB Abu Dhabi earlier in the year, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Mall, as well as W Abu Dhabi – Yas Island – the first hotel in the UAE to receive the accreditation – and all Yas Plaza hotels. The certification is one of 25 health and safety accreditations received by the destination, including the coveted WTTC ‘Safe Travels’ stamp by the World Travel & Tourism Council in August 2020 – the first destination in Abu Dhabi to receive the international honour. During the summer months, Yas Island introduced its popular ‘Kids Go Free’ packages across the destination for the ultimate summer break, and has now extended the package to holidaymakers from Saudi Arabia. Until 30 September 2021, children below the age of 12 will be able to stay and play for free – one child for every one paying …

As one of the destinations the travellers from the Middle East can enjoy during this summer, Maldives has been receiving the highest numbers from the region over the past year. At the recently concluded Arabian Travel Market, Maldives pavilion received the highest number of visitors as well as the destination opened way ahead of others with precaution. Hard Rock Hotel Maldives has introduced a Summer Family Camp-Cation to combine family vacation with an amazing kids’ camp for the little ones this summer in the Maldives. The unique summer camp setting featuring sports, crafts and arts will provide little ones with awesome fun filled with discovery, while offering the parents perfect beach holiday with entire family. The ‘Play Hard, Pause Hard’ customizes experiences for adults and for kids elevating every moment as a ‘Hard Rock state of mind’. The unique camp setting features 3 distinctive curriculums featuring sports, crafts, and arts. Highlights of the program include the sports curriculum with Aerial Arts at The Stage, the aerial arts studio, with award-winning aerial instructor Lauren Ault introducing a new form of art to the kids as their express their creativity, improve their coordination and gain superhero balance and strength as they familiarize with apparatus such as silks, hoop, juggling, trapeze, and hammock. Street Safe, a self-defense program created by Master Leo Vieira of CHECKMAT Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy and conducted by Gold Medalist and brown belt Miguel Gomez will develop confidence amongst the little ones through social discipline while introducing them basic skills of body movement, leverage and flow.  The arts and craft curriculum as well promises an equally exhilarating time with various types of dance lessons, music classes, gardening tutorials, marine life …

The improvement of the epidemiological situation in Spain and the developing progress in the vaccination roll-out, both in Spain and in many countries around the world, make it possible to ease the measures for entry into Spain for tourist purposes. The new regulations, described in this document, will come into force on 7 June. If you are travelling to Spain for tourism purposes from a country that does not belong to the European Union or the European Economic Area, what are the entry requirements If you are travelling from a country or territory included in the list of countries with low incidence, excluded from the risk zone, you will be able to travel without the need for a diagnostic test or a certificate of vaccination or immunity. At the moment the countries included in this list are: Australia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao (subject to reciprocity). If you are travelling from a country or territory that is not included in the list of exempted countries, from 7 June tourists will be allowed to enter if they have a certificate of vaccination issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin from 14 days after the date of administration of the last dose of the complete vaccination schedule. The vaccines accepted shall be those authorised by the European Medicines Agency or those that have completed the World Health Organisation’s emergency use process. Currently, these vaccines are those produced by Pfizer-Biontech, Moderna, Astra-Zeneca, Jansen/Johnson&Johnson, Sinovac and Sinopharm. The certificate of vaccination shall include at least the following …

Ireland has announced the adoption of the EU’s new Digital Covid Certificate. This will enable more seamless travel for tourists and will be extended to vaccinated visitors from outside of the EU, including the GCC countries, and will allow certain travellers to visit the island. Ireland will begin the scheme on 19 July, meaning that travellers with the approved vaccinations will then be able to visit Ireland without the need for a test or quarantining. Tourism Ireland and the tourism industry have been actively planning for the restart of international travel. The organisation is now ready to roll out a significant promotional kick-start campaign to entice and welcome back international visitors. The tourism industry has been preparing to ensure visitors will have a great holiday on the island of Ireland in 2021. The health and safety of all visitors will be a priority, but the island is sure to still bring a very warm Irish welcome and a great holiday experience. Approved vaccinations which will be accepted for travel to Ireland includes; •             2 doses of Pfizer-BioNtech Vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated after 7 days since second dose) •             2 doses of Moderna Vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated after 14 days since second dose) •             2 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated after 15 days since second dose) •             1 dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Vaccine (regarded as fully vaccinated after 14 days since second dose)  Travellers from the GCC will be able to travel to Ireland provided they have received the full course of any one of these approved vaccinations. These rules apply to Ireland only and excludes Northern Ireland which will be subject to the UK …

Turkish Airlines increased the frequency of its Dubai to Turkey route to three daily flights to its Istanbul hub which connects travelers to over 300 destinations worldwide while maintaining the utmost care for a safe and healthy travel experience.  The new flight will start to operate from the 17th of June and is now available for purchase for holiday planners looking to escape the summer heat. It will depart from Dubai daily at 10:20 and arrive in Istanbul at 14:00 with return flights leaving Istanbul at 20:40 and arriving in Dubai the next morning at 2:00. All times are local times of their departure points. Turkish Airlines launched a promotional campaign that will be available until June 18, 2021 to announce the new flights. Tickets for Economy Class are starting at AED 1595 while Business Class tickets are starting from AED 10775 for the campaign period. The tickets purchased during the campaign are valid for the travel period until February 28, 2022. The flight will be operated with wide body aircrafts. The passengers travelling from UAE will not be required to submit a negative PCR test result if they submit a document issued by the relevant country’s official authorities stating that they have been vaccinated at least 14 days before entry to Turkey and /or have contracted the Covid-19 and were cured within the last 6 months. Passengers may visit Turkish Airlines website to have more details. The airline also launched its Newark route, starting its flights on 22nd May 2021. Newark is the 10th USA destination in the extensive network of the flag carrier. Other new destinations launched include Vancouver, Canada and Turkistan, Kazakhstan.  

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce that it will resume services to Sharjah, UAE starting 1 July 2021 with a daily flight. The Sharjah services will be operated by the airline’s state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner featuring 22 seats in First Class and 232 seats in Economy Class. The resumption of services will enable passengers flying from and to Sharjah to benefit from the airline’s extensive international network in Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas, which currently stands at over 130 destinations with plans to increase to more than 1,200 weekly flights to over 140 destinations by the end of July. Sharjah will be an alternative gateway for passengers to and from the other cities especially Dubai in the UAE. Qatar airways flight QR1036, will depart from Hamad International Airport at 14:35, arriving at 16:45 to Sharjah. Qatar Airways daily flight QR1037, will depart from Sharjah at 17:55, and arrive to Doha at 18:05. As travellers return to the skies with Qatar Airways, they can take comfort knowing that they are travelling with the only airline in the world that has, together with its state-of-the-art global hub Hamad International Airport, achieved four 5-Star Skytrax ratings – including the prestigious 5-Star Airline Rating, 5-Star Airport Rating, 5-Star COVID-19 Airline Safety Rating and 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating. These achievements highlight Qatar Airways’ commitment to providing its passengers with an industry-leading experience at every point of their journey, including the highest possible level of health and safety standards that safeguard the wellbeing of its passengers both on the ground and in the air. A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the …

Etihad Airways is restarting services to Rabat on 23 June 2021. As Phuket prepares to reopen to international vaccinated travellers, Etihad is recommencing services to the popular holiday destination on 1 July 2021.  Fares from Abu Dhabi to Rabat and Phuket start from just AED 995 return in Economy. This fare is limited on a first come first-served basis. The sale starts today, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 and ends on Friday, 4 June 2021. Guests who book between 5 and 9 June 2021 will enjoy return fares to Rabat starting from AED 1,995 in Economy and Business fares from AED 9,495. Travellers can jet off to Phuket in Business from AED 6,995. Sale fares are valid for travel until 20 November 2021. The Rabat service will operate with an initial twice-weekly flight and Phuket will be three times a week, using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, offering Economy Space and Neighbour-free seating options. To simplify the travel experience and provide additional peace of mind, Etihad recently launched Verified to Fly, allowing guests to validate their Covid-19 travel documents before arriving at the airport. Travellers who use Verified to Fly can enjoy fast track check-in at the airport by going to the dedicated Verified to Fly desk for a quicker and smoother experience. To use the Verified to Fly service, guests can sign-up by visiting Manage my Booking and will receive further information on how to submit their documents. For more convenient travel options, guests can also check in for their Etihad flight from the comfort of their own home by visiting etihad.com/homecheckin up to seven hours before their flight. This means passengers can check in their bags, choose their seat and …