Category Archives: Aviation

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 …

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 …

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 …

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced the launch of its latest route to Chisinau, Moldova, starting on 4 September 2021. With the launch of Chisinau, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has now on sale 25 destinations. The flight to Chisinau will be operated two times per week on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Tickets are already on sale on wizzair.com and the airline’s mobile app (also available in Arabic), with fares starting as low as AED 179*. The connection between Abu Dhabi and the city of Chisinau is further expanding the travel opportunities for UAE residents who would like to visit friends and relatives, travel for business, as well as offer unforgettable experiences to those who would like to discover new places. Chisinau is the capital city and the major industrial centre of Moldova, situated along the Bâcu (Byk) River in the south-central part of the country. A city with a rich culture, exquisite architecture, beautiful landscapes, tasty and unique cuisine, Chisinau promises to delight and surprise all visitors. Kees Van Schaick, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi said: “We are happy to announce a new route from Abu Dhabi to Chisinau following the update of the green travel list which included Moldova. As restrictions ease, the demand for travel is increasing and we are committed to providing additional travel opportunities to our customers by expanding our current network with new and exciting routes.” With the recent update of the green list of countries, passengers travelling from Moldova do not need to quarantine on arrival in the UAE capital. Passengers will need to take a PCR test on arrival into the UAE, on the sixth day after arriving, and on day 12 …

flydubai starts its operations to Naples in Italy. The three weekly flights to Naples International Airport (NAP) will commence on 01 July and offer passengers from the UAE more options for travel this summer. A quarantine-free travel corridor has been established between Italy and the UAE enabling passengers to travel between the two countries with less restrictions. A negative COVID-19 test result will be required 48 hours before departure from the UAE. On arrival in Italy, all passengers over the age of two years will be required to take a rapid antigen test. The safe travel corridor with Italy is the latest in a series of agreements signed by the UAE including those with Bahrain, Greece and Serbia. Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said, “We are pleased to see more countries opening up for safe tourism and is a step in the right direction to speed up recovery and boost travel this summer. This is a good sign that confidence in travel is returning and the efforts taken by stakeholders in the tourism industry to safeguard every step of the journey will benefit our passengers. We look forward to restarting our flights to Naples, a much-anticipated destination on the flydubai network.” Commenting on the announcement, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “we are excited to offer our passengers convenient travel options to some of the most popular holiday spots in Europe including Mykonos and Santorini. Naples is another popular destination for the summer and a great starting point to discover the beauty of the Amalfi coast. flydubai has made these European destinations more accessible for passengers from the UAE and the GCC …

Air Seychelles will operate more flights from Dubai to the Indian Ocean paradise this July to provide travellers more choice and convenience when planning their Eid al-Adha holidays. The weekly flights starting from 2 July until 24 July 2021 will depart from Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 on Friday mornings, returning from Seychelles International Airport every Thursday afternoon, providing visitors a full week of adventure in the Seychelles. To offer greater connectivity over the upcoming Eid break, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles will operate an additional flight on 19 July 2021 from Dubai. Economy Class travellers can take advantage of the attractive fares starting from USD343 (AED 1,259), whilst Business Class travellers can book their seats at the starting fares of USD1,020 (AED 3,743). All fares are inclusive of taxes. Flights are now on sale via Air Seychelles website at www.airseychelles.com and through travel agents. Travelers to the popular holiday destination, irrespective of vaccination status, must have a negative COVID 19 PCR test certificate taken within 72 hours, with completed mandatory Health Travel Authorization at seychelles.govtas.com prior to departure from Dubai. With the average temperature ranging from 25 to 27 degrees Celsius in July, visitors can look forward to a break from the Dubai summer heat. Island hopping between the main islands, Mahe, Praslin and La Digue, famous for their white sandy beaches and vibrant coral reefs, will ensure tourists experience a picturesque and memorable escape. The flight schedule from Dubai Terminal 3 to the Seychelles from 2 July until 24 July, 2021.

Qatar Airways’ resumption of four-weekly Atlanta flights on 1 June marks the full return of the airline’s pre-pandemic U.S. network increasing its gateways to 12, two more than it operated before COVID-19. The airline will also be increasing frequencies to Boston, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle offering more flexible travel options for its passengers with more than 85 weekly flights across the United States. These increased services will provide enhanced connectivity to several of the airline’s global leisure destinations including Cape Town, Maldives, Seychelles and Zanzibar, along with other key traffic flows in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Qatar Airways has remained committed to its passengers and trade partners in the United States, maintaining continuous services while rebuilding its U.S. network and launching two new destinations – San Francisco and Seattle. We have also strengthened our presence in the U.S. through strategic partnerships with Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue that have enabled us to connect to more points in the United States than any other airline, providing U.S. travellers the most convenient way to travel internationally this summer.   “As more of our passengers return to the skies, they can take comfort knowing that they are travelling with the only airline in the world that has, together with our 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. We are proud to have lead the industry during this difficult period, setting the benchmark for …

The key holiday destination of Málaga returns to Qatar Airways’ route network as Spain begins to ease travel restrictions for tourists. Málaga is a firm favourite with holidaymakers around the world, and fully vaccinated travellers will soon be able to visit once again whilst also enjoying Qatar Airways’ award-winning hospitality and service. His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways said, “As the world begins to open up again, we at Qatar Airways stand ready to take the lead in supporting the global economic and social recovery as demonstrated by our support for tourism in Spain. Spain has always been a strategically important country for our airline, as reflected by our deep partnership with Iberia and steady rebuild of our Spain network. “Our global network continues to rebuild and expand even in these challenging times.  Passengers booking with Qatar Airways can do so with complete confidence that they can make changes to their booking should factor outside their control disrupt their travel plans.” Málaga is a beautiful and cosmopolitan city nestled along Spain´s Costa del Sol in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia. The city offers a wide variety of activities for visitors to enjoy, such as exploring the historic Roman fort, basking on one of Málaga’s wonderful Mediterranean beaches, or visiting one of its many museums. Many travellers also combine a trip to Malaga with a visit to the Southern Spain hotspots of Marbella and Puerto Banus. Málaga became the third Spanish destination for Qatar Airways network in June 2018 and will be served by flights on Friday and Sunday from Doha, utilising one of the airline’s modern, sustainable and young Airbus A350-900 aircraft with seating for …