Tag Archives: UAE

Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center (Tadweer) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore how municipal waste can be converted into jet fuel. Representing a major development in the adoption of sustainable fuel, the project would aim to use the final jet fuel on Etihad Airways’ flights. The MoU mandates the two entities to undertake an initial feasibility study towards developing a flagship waste-to-fuel facility in Abu Dhabi. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Waste-to-biofuel is a cutting-edge technology – one that Etihad Airways believes will have a profoundly positive impact on the aviation industry, while also providing waste management solutions and a cleaner environment. The adoption and upscaling of sustainable energy supplies is a crucial step towards reducing Etihad Airways’ dependency on fossil fuels, allowing the airline to grow sustainably and offset carbon emissions. This landmark agreement signed with Tadweer today reflects Etihad Airways’ mutual commitment to sustainability, and the airline hopes that it can bring about lasting change to the sustainable energy landscape in the UAE.” Dr Salem Al Kaabi, Acting General Manager, Tadweer, said, “The MoU aligns with our mandate to deliver highly innovative industrial and municipal waste management solutions, as well as our commitment to the National Agenda of the UAE Vision 2021 and Abu Dhabi Waste Master Plan 2040 that aims to divert 75 per cent of municipal solid waste away from landfills.”  

Air India Express flights are now arriving and departing from Terminal 1 at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Originally, the airline departed from Terminal 1, and arrived at Terminal 2. The transition from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 for the arrivals occurred on September 30 and is in line with Abu Dhabi Airports’ commitment to ensuring quality service and a seamless passenger experience. The Indian subcontinent remains one of the most popular destinations for travellers departing from AUH, reflecting the close cultural and economic ties between the UAE and India. The Indian flag carrier operates seven daily flights between Abu Dhabi and six destinations in India, including New Delhi, Cochin, Kannur, Mangalore, Trivandrum and Calicut. Ahmed Al Shamsi, Acting Chief Operations Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “At Abu Dhabi Airports, we are committed to enriching passenger experiences and providing world-class services. As one of our closest partners, we are pleased to announce Air India Express’ relocation to Terminal 1 and look forward to ensuring its guests enjoy a convenient and entertaining travel experience through Abu Dhabi International Airport.” PA Umadevi, Airport Manager, Air India & Air India Express operations, said, “Air India Express is pleased to announce the transition of its arriving flights to Terminal 1 at Abu Dhabi International Airport, which reflects our commitment to providing exceptional services to our passengers. The level of services offered to us by Abu Dhabi Airports helps us ensure our customers’ satisfaction and meet the rising demand in the Abu Dhabi market.”

Uni-top Airlines is planning to operate B747 freighter flight between Kunming in China and Dubai, according to Yang Fan, Vice President, Uni-top Airlines. Addressing an air transport cooperation promotion conference held by Chinese Yunnan provincial delegation in Kempinski Hotel Mall of Emirates in Dubai, Fan said, “In order to support the development of civil aviation and trade between China and the UAE, Uni-top Airlines is planning to operate B747 freighter flight with three flights per week between Kunming and Dubai.” The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the Yunnan Provincial Government have jointly signed ‘The Kunming International Aviation Hub Strategic Planning’, in order to build Kunming Changshui international airport into an international hub that is safe, efficient, accessible, integrated, green and intelligent.  It is planned that by 2030, there will be 500 air routes, including 200 international and regional ones with 120 million passengers and 1.78 million tonnes cargo by running five runways in Kunming Changshui international airport. Zhang Changsheng, Deputy Director, Yunnan Provincial Development & Reform Commission and Director General, Yunnan Provincial Civil Aviation Development Administration, said, “Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the UAE in July, and the leaders of the two countries unanimously decided to upgrade bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership. We expect to strengthen joint marketing promotion for airline flights, tourism market and especially air cargo market in order to push the development of bilateral economy and trade, and we also expect to promote abundant green agricultural products with Yunnan plateau characteristics to the UAE for sharing.” Khalil Lamrabet, Director – Aviation Business Management, Dubai Airports, said, “Strengthening the tourism, trade and commercial links between China and Dubai is a key strategy for Dubai Airports. We …

Nirvana Over the world (NOW) has joined hands with Tune Protect as their travel protection partner for travellers, globally. Commenting on the tie-up, Lina Bassam, Executive Director – Wholesale, Nirvana Travel & Tousim, said, “Travel is the buzzword and the number of travellers from the UAE or to the UAE is growing rapidly. We have partnered with Tune Protect EMEIA to offer a variety of travel assurance plans to our travellers. Our collaboration aims at delivering a hassle-free, seamless experience, and peace of mind to our travellers, before, during and after their travel.” Arijit Munshi, General Manager, Tune Protect EMEIA, said, “Tune Protect, along with our local insurance partner, has been able to launch over 10 different travel protection plans, which can be tailor-made and diversely beneficial catering to vivid segments of travellers”. A basic Tune Protect travel protection plan offers best-in-class benefits like medical expenses due to hospitalisation anywhere in the world, worldwide accidental death and disablement coverage, loss or damage of baggage, trip delay, etc. Both Nirvana and Tune Protect are determined and committed to delivering unique and convenient risk-management solutions to travellers. This intended collaboration will bring together various comprehensive and cost-effective travel assurance covers at the time of planning a trip.

Emirates Holidays has partnered up with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to become the official tour operator for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. The 17th edition of the continent’s prestigious football tournament will take place in the United Arab Emirates between January 5, 2019 and February 1, 2019.  Through the partnership, Emirates Holidays offers a broad range of excellent value packages to football fans traveling to Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai and Sharjah to support their teams. Each package includes match ticket(s), accommodation and return flights with Emirates Airline. Robin Parry, Vice President, Emirates Holidays, said, “We are thrilled to become the official tour operator of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019. Starting from today, supporters can seamlessly book match ticket, flight and accommodation with Emirates Holidays and enjoy the excellent travel experience our award-winning airline and reputable hotel partners offer. We see exciting opportunities for the company in sport tourism and continue to seek ways to accommodate the growing demand. We look forward to welcoming our football fan customers in the UAE.” Dato’ Windsor John, General Secretary, Asian Football Confederation, said, “Asian football continues to make giant strides on the world stage and the remarkable growth and stature of the AFC Asian Cup exemplifies the undeniable progress of football in the Continent. Emirates have been a long-standing partner of the AFC and we would like to thank them for their firm belief in the development and ever-improving proposition of Asian football.

Dubai Airports and China Eastern celebrated the announcement of three weekly non-stop flights between Shanghai and Dubai International (DXB) at an event in Dubai recently. Scheduled to begin on September 17, the non-stop services are an addition to China Eastern’s three existing flights between Shanghai and Dubai with a stopover in Kunming, the capital city of China’s Yunnan province. The new services will offer customers greater choice and facilitate ease of travel between the two destinations. A top trading partner for the UAE, China is a major contributor to DXB’s traffic with more than 2.2 million travellers in 2017. China Eastern’s association with DXB goes back to 2010 when it commenced service between Dubai and Kunming via Dhaka. As part of the event, Eugene Barry, Executive Vice President of Dubai Airports’ Commercial Group, presented a certificate of appreciation to Randy Cui, General Manager (UAE) of China Eastern, for the carrier’s role in boosting UAE-China connectivity through a strong partnership with Dubai Airports.

RwandAir has recently appointed Cozmo Travel as its Passenger General Sales Agent (GSA) for the GCC countries (Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia (Offline). “These strategic partnerships play a very important role especially for airlines entering new markets and the practice is that airlines look competitively for established and well known GSA’s when entering particular markets which saves airlines associated costs for new market entry and, or development such as infrastructure, human resource etc while focusing on results. We are already established in the UAE, flying into and out of Dubai and we do cover the entire UAE market from a passenger and cargo sales perspective. This partnership is part of a growth strategy, though offline and it gives us an opportunity to assess the GCC markets for any other decisions in the future,” stated  Timothy Njihia, Country Manager—UAE | GCC | Pakistan, RwandAir.” Jamal Abdulnazar, CEO, Cozmo Travel stated, “With Cozmo Travel’s extensive retail presence in all the GCC countries, RwandAir will be able to capitalise on Cozmo’s  network in the region ensuring a wider market reach. Likewise Cozmo will be able to represent and sell the various RwandAir destinations within the African continent as well their expanding network into Asia and Europe. With a significant population of African nationals working and residing in the GCC region, the focus will be to capitalize on the large network of destinations within the African continent served by RwandAir.”

Tourists visiting the UAE will be entitled to claim back any Value Added Tax (VAT) payments they are charged. “The UAE has become a regional magnet for foreign investors and tourists, and the move to refund VAT yet again shows UAE’s strategic ability to drive the growth of the country,” said Tejas Goenka, Executive Director, Tally Solutions. Since the launch of VAT, thousands of businesses in the UAE have been using Tally’s software to comply with VAT regulations. The UAE’s Federal Tax Authority (FTA) is also working on an advanced integrated digital system to set up a direct connection with points of sale as well as with all UAE ports of entry, allowing the global operator to coordinate among retailers registered with the FTA and enable tourists to submit refund requests for their purchases. “Internationally, most countries that implement VAT have an online robust system connecting multiple refund agencies and retailers on a single platform, offering tourists a seamless and hassle-free experience while verifying, processing and disbursing the tax refunds. We are confident that the new digital system to be implemented by FTA will be at par with international standards, offering tourists and retailers easy access to claim and release refunds. Since the launch of VAT, thousands of small companies in the UAE have switched to digital platforms from manual systems, demonstrating the country’s global competitiveness,” added Tejas. While the UAE’s decision to refund value-added tax (VAT) will boost tourism, it will serve as a buoyant force for the MiCE industry as well according to Tejas.

Emaar Hospitality Group has announced creation of more than 5,300 jobs in the hospitality sector in the next five years across the UAE including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Significantly, the group is focusing on hiring and nurturing the talents of UAE Nationals for jobs in the hospitality sector, and has put into place ambitious strategies and plans to drive Emiratisation across all functions within the Group. These goals will also be achieved through partnerships with key government entities and departments that support Emiratisation within the hospitality industry. Emaar Hospitality Group is creating jobs across the entire breadth of the hospitality and leisure supply chain – from guest facing and heart-of-house functions to administrators, marketing, sales, finance, HR, logistics, and other professionals. An equal opportunity company, the Group welcomes professionals from across the world who are passionate about building a long-term career in the hospitality sector. Aseem Kapoor, Corporate Director of Human Resources at Emaar Hospitality Group, said: “We are emerging as one of the largest providers of jobs in the hospitality sector in the UAE. With hospitality professionals from across the world working with us, we take pride in offering a world-class work environment that enables them to progress in their careers. While we will continue to promote and nurture a multi-cultural work environment, one of our focal points will be to attract more Emirati and National talent to the industry – given the superb value they can deliver, with their local knowledge and skills – and we are committed to ensuring that our team members achieve professional and personal success.”

Emaar has announced landmark developments that will further strengthen UAE-China relations. To honour Chinese expatriates in the UAE and further bolster business ties with China, Emaar will develop the Middle East’s largest Chinatown within the retail district of Dubai Creek Harbour, its six-square-kilometre mega-development, only 10 minutes from the Dubai Internal Airport and the iconic Burj Khalifa. The retail precinct will occupy a central location within Dubai Creek Harbour – a destination which will be home to the world’s new icon, Dubai Creek Tower, and encompass vibrant lifestyle elements. Set by the Dubai Creek waterway, elegantly designed homes in Dubai Creek Harbour will offer spectacular views of the city’s dramatic skyline, the waterfront and the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary – home to over 450 animal species and migratory birds, including pink flamingos. Further strengthening Emaar’s outreach to China, the company also announced that it will open three dedicated pavilions in China – Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, all cities served by direct daily flights to Dubai on Emirates Airline. The three offices will promote tourism, education, trading and investment between UAE and China. In a third significant announcement, Emaar will expand its premium luxury hotel and serviced residences brand, Address Hotels + Resorts, to China. Discussions are ongoing to develop and operate Address branded hotels in key cities in the country, given the strong appeal and familiarity that the brand enjoys among Chinese tourists.