Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, confirms special commercial flights from Dubai to Manila this August, as well as additional flights to other key Asian destinations as it rebuilds international operations. The Bayanihan (a Filipino word that best describes uniting as a community) flights or special commercial flights from Dubai to Manila are scheduled on August 11 and 18, or two consecutive Wednesdays of the month in response to the government’s call for assistance to repatriate overseas Filipinos in the Middle East while the travel ban remains in effect. Other reinstated flights include flights to Singapore, Seoul, South Korea, Tokyo (Narita), Hongkong, Nagoya, Osaka (Kansai) and Taipei. “We remain cautiously optimistic as we gradually rebuild our international network,” said Candice Iyog, Vice President for Marketing and Customer Experience of Cebu Pacific.  “We recognize the need for non-leisure travel to these routes and we assure everyone that we are committed to keep prioritizing safety as we restore trust and confidence in air travel.” Flight schedules may be viewed, and bookings made on the website www.cebupacificair.com. Travel regulations issued by the governments of the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan will be implemented. Passengers may refer to the list of travel requirements here: https://bit.ly/CEBFlightReminders. CEB has been rated 7/7 stars by airlineratings.com for its COVID-19 compliance as it continues to implement a multi-layered approach to safety, in accordance with global aviation standards. These include daily extensive cleaning and disinfection protocols for all aircraft and facilities, antigen testing before duty for all frontliners and crew members, and contactless flight procedures. These are all in accordance with global best practices and the highest safety standards. Aircraft are …

The organizers of Ibiza’s pilot event at Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza have appointed the event a success and an important milestone for the reactivation of leisure events in Ibiza. The event was approved by the Balearic Island’s Government and has enabled to showcase the compliance with all measures outlined by the authorities amongst a public of almost 1500 people at Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza. It was required that all guests shall wear a mask during the entire event, which could only be removed for drinking. The capacity of the dance area and the bar was limited in capacity. Attendees had to provide proof of vaccination, PCR test or Covid antibodies prior to entering the venue. Those guests who did not meet these criteria underwent an antigen test at the venue prior to admittance. All tests were negative. In addition, access to the venue was staggered to avoid crowds, and all attendees had their temperatures taken. “The event has been another step towards reactivating the life events and a real confirmation that enjoying a leisure event is again possible while complying with the rules”  

Capital Experience part of Tourism 365, and owned by the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company Group (ADNEC), has opened its office in Dubai. The new office will reach a broader range of potential partners, customers, and key industry stakeholders. Capital Experience, Tourism 365’s premium destination management arm, will serve partners and clients with exclusive offerings across the UAE, delivering memorable, unique and seamless travel experiences. Capital Experience will work with key stakeholders across each emirate, partnering with key entities including hotels across the nation. The launch of the company’s new office in Dubai aims at delivering international partners, tour operators, and partners a diversified product offering with a wide range of enticing packages. The office will work alongside Tourism 365 with their goal of increasing the number of tourists who visit Abu Dhabi, encouraging them to extend their visits to the UAE. Tourism 365 launched earlier this year under the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC). The company offers unique travel opportunities for tourists coming to Abu Dhabi, enhancing the emirate’s regional and global positioning in the wider tourism industry. Roula Jouny, Executive Director of Tourism 365, commented: “The opening of our Dubai office for Capital Experience reflects our strategic focus the Emirates tourism sector. With a wide range of global mega-events and other tourists’ attractions taking place in Abu Dhabi, Tourism 365 provides the perfect travel partner for all tourists looking to extend their stay in the UAE and enjoy all that Abu Dhabi has to offer. Through the opening of the Dubai office for Capital Experience, we will now provide clients with a complete solution and end-to-end experiences for UAE tourism.”

The national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Gulf Air will ramp its services to the French capital to be daily. This is in line with the latest decision by the French authorities to add the Kingdom of Bahrain to their Green List as of 01st August. Being on the green list will mean that citizens and residents of Bahrain will be accepted to travel to France without the need to quarantine. Passengers aged 12 and above must present a proof of a complete vaccination which is authorised by the European Medicines Agency or a negative PCR test that is conducted within 72 hours before the flight or a certificate of recovery from COVID-19 for non-vaccinated passengers. Gulf Air began the summer season with flights to 80% of its pre-pandemic network and it continued to resume operations and restore services to cities of its original 2019 destination network. The airline has also announced that it has successfully launched all of its seasonal destinations for the summer of 2021 with direct flights to Mykonos and Santorini in Greece, Malaga in Spain and Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt as well as recently resuming Tbilisi in Georgia. The airline currently flies to and from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, Muscat, Cairo, Amman, Casablanca, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Athens, Istanbul, Tbilisi, Larnaca, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Dhaka, Colombo, the Maldives and several destinations in India and Pakistan. Commenting on restoring daily flights to Paris, Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented: “This is wonderful news for citizens and residents of the Kingdom of Bahrain to be able to travel on Gulf Air to Paris on our newly introduced …

Rotana, one of the leading hotel management companies in the region with hotels across the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Turkey, has signed new management agreements with Al Marasem Development and Marina Way Lagoon. The agreement includes the management of two new properties – Lake Residence, serviced apartments in New Cairo which will also mark Rotana’s debut in the capital city and Marina Bay, Hotel Apartments in Alamein, North Coast. Al Marasem Development and Marina Way Lagoon partnered with Rotana to manage and operate the hotel projects, capitalizing the brand’s legacy and its experience in operating an extensive portfolio hospitality brands in the region. With Rotana’s superior level of expertise and deep-rooted knowledge in property management, this partnership aims to achieve the highest return on investment and provision of luxurious services with attractive competitive advantages. Commenting on the announcement, Nasser Al Nowais, Chairman, Rotana said: “We are delighted to partner with Al Marasem Development and Marina Way Lagoon, one of the largest players in Egypt’s real estate sector. We are honoured and grateful to His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Laden for entrusting Rotana with the exclusive management of these outstanding hospitality projects in the Republic of Egypt.”   Al Nowais added: “Egypt has always been a strategic market for Rotana as it is one of the world’s leading tourism destinations with a great vision for the future of leisure and business travel. These incredible projects allow us to bring the world-class services and amenities of the Rotana brand to Egypt and provide us with a prime opportunity to strengthen our presence in the market. Through this partnership, we not only aim to showcase the vitality of our brand but …

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, a UAE national airline, has announced two new destinations as part of its flight network. The new destinations of Tirana in Albania and Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina bring Wizz Air Abu Dhabi to a total of 31 routes since launching earlier this year. The flights to each destination will commence on 11th of September and 3rd of October respectively. The flight to Tirana will operate twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday, while flights to Sarajevo will operate twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday. Tickets are on sale on wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app (also available in Arabic), with fares starting as low as AED 179*. The vibrant capital of Albania, Tirana enjoys a mild Mediterranean climate nestled next to vast and beautiful mountains. A city with a stormy past now exudes culture, history and architecture set to dazzle visitors. Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina is a resilient city steeped in culture and historical significance, and has naturally become a melting pot of religion and cuisine. Visitors can soak up the city’s atmosphere by exploring the many lanes and markets throughout. Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said: “We continue to add a diverse and eclectic mix of destinations to our network to ensure that there is an appealing travel option for all. Tirana and Sarajevo are fascinating destinations, rich in culture and both set amid impressive mountainous backdrops.” “When we launched at the start of 2021, we committed to rapid expansion of our network as well as providing viable and ultra-low fare travel for UAE residents and inbound tourists. With 31 routes now on our roster, we continue …

It was announced by UAE authorities that effective 5th August 2021 eligible travelers from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Uganda, Vietnam, South Africa, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nepal will be allowed to travel to/through UAE. Emirates spokesperson shared, “Emirates would like to thank the UAE National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority and UAE General Civil Aviation Authority for their continuous efforts and evaluation of the pandemic situation globally, and implementing protocols to ensure the safety and health of the community while maintaining a secure path for travellers. Emirates welcomes the latest announced travel exceptions and protocols, which enables travel to resume from more countries from 5 August, facilitating connections for families and businesses. Our website will be updated with the latest protocols and requirements for travel. We continue to actively engage with all relevant stakeholders and authorities on the latest health and safety regulations and look forward to welcome all passengers on our flights.” More updates to follow soon…  

Dubai’s business events sector continues to build on its momentum as one of the first cities in the world to reopen for international meetings, with a busy calendar of high profile conferences, meetings and incentives on the horizon through the rest of 2021 and into 2022. Following on from the resumption of international tourism to the city in July 2020, Dubai welcomed international business events from October 2020 and immediately saw a healthy pipeline of conferences and exhibitions taking place across the city. With meeting planners recognising Dubai’s ability to safely host events and its prudent handling of the global Covid-19 pandemic, that is now poised to continue in the second half of 2021, through the hosting of Expo 2020 Dubai and into the rest of 2022.   Among the major congresses and conferences coming to Dubai in the coming months are the Congress of the Société Internationale d’Urologie, Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, International Astronautical Congress, World Chambers Congress, LPG Week, Gastech and Africa Oil Week. Meanwhile, major incentive groups visiting the city will include AFC Life Science, Amway, Sunhope, Jeunesse and OMNILIFE.   Issam Kazim, CEO of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, said: “Driven by the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the city was among the first in the world to restart its business events sector, providing a vital platform for associations, businesses and organisations to resume their face to face meetings and drive knowledge development in key sectors. We understand the importance for the meetings industry globally to restart physical events, and thanks to …

Qatar Airways passengers will be able to explore even more of Africa following its new partnership with Rwanda’s flag carrier, RwandAir via their hubs at Doha and Kigali. As a part of the strategic partnership, the extensive interline agreement will give customers access to the networks of both airlines, providing a seamless travel experience and enhanced customer service including in the frequent flyers programmes.   Customers can pick and choose from over 160 destinations in the combined networks of both airlines, which are perfectly connected via their home hubs of Doha and Kigali.   This latest cooperation comes hot on the heels of the airlines’ recent loyalty partnerships announcement, giving RwandAir Dream Miles and Qatar Airways Privilege Club loyalty members, access to each other’s destinations with the opportunity to ‘earn and burn’ points across their reciprocal route networks.   His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al-Baker, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive said: “This partnership cements our commitment to giving travellers the widest choice of destinations, while providing a seamless, high quality travel experience, which is the goal of both Qatar Airways and RwandAir.   “Africa is a hugely important market for us and this latest partnership will help support the recovery of international air travel and offer unrivalled connectivity to and from a number of new African destinations.”   Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir CEO, said: “We’re really excited to be opening up more of the world to our customers through the new interline agreement with Qatar Airways.   “Delivering excellent customer experience is key for us and we know that any travelers flying with Qatar Airways or RwandAir, as part of the agreement, will continue to receive the same unrivalled level of service …

Air France KLM (Middle East) has announced the appointment of a new General Manager for the Middle East region, based at the regional headquarters at Dubai Airport Free Zone. Simon Scholte joined the region on August 1st and will lead the team covering the Commercial, HR, Finance and Station activities of Air France KLM in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Cairo and offline markets (Yemen, Qatar, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Libya, Jordan). Simon Scholte joined Air France KLM in 2005 and has held several senior managerial positions within the company, including Commercial Director in Korea, Russia and CIS; and Director Pricing. He joined the Middle East team from his latest role as Program Director Flying Blue and Deputy VP Customer Loyalty. Simon Scholte has taken over the Middle East regional leadership role from Yeshwant Pawar, who has retired from the Group. Commenting on his new role, Simon Scholte, General Manager Middle East, Air France KLM said: “I am delighted to join the Middle East team and privileged to lead Air France KLM in this beautiful exciting and diverse region known for its rich culture, history, gastronomy and hospitality, especially at an important time, as we develop our network and services and implement our sustainability strategy. Our aim is to meet the evolving service demands and travel expectations of our customers and connect the region with global destinations through our extensive network. Just as importantly, we want to bring global business and leisure travellers to the region and support local economies and partners. On behalf of the Group, I would like to thank Yeshwant Pawar for his outstanding contribution over many years of service and …