Emirates’ self-check-in and bag drop kiosks at Dubai International (DXB), which made its debut in September last year, have now gone touchless further enhancing the smart contactless journey for passengers travelling from Dubai. The 32 self-service bag drop machines and 16 check-in kiosks can be controlled completely by personal mobile devices without touching the screens; providing a safe and convenient airport experience. The kiosks allow customers to check-in, receive their boarding pass, choose seats on board, and drop off their bags. New services have also been added to allow passengers to make payments for ancillary purchases, such as additional baggage allowance, directly at the kiosks. The self check-in kiosks, placed at the Economy check-in area in Terminal 3, complement the desks manned by Emirates check-in agents to reduce waiting time for customers during peak periods and improve the experience in Dubai. The service is now available to customers travelling to all destinations except to the US, Canada, China, India and Hong Kong due to additional requirements from these destinations. More kiosks are planned for the First and Business Class check-in area. Emirates has spared no effort in creating a smart contactless journey for its customers. Travellers can also choose to use its integrated biometric path to breeze through DXB. Utilising the latest facial biometric technology, Emirates passengers check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights, simply by strolling through the airport. The smart contactless experience continues on board with digital menus available on the Emirates app allowing customers to browse the menus on their personal devices both online and offline; as well as on Emirates’ Wi-Fi portal without needing to purchase a …

Gulf Travel Show (GTS) second edition will take place on 31st March and 1st April 2021. GTS with its proprietary exhibition software will help you recover, rebuild and reimagine relationships and products. For registration, you can contact – crisna@ddppl.com +971 55 470 4200; sonia.butalia@ddppl.com +91 96503 11774; nikhil.jeet@ddppl.com Our first edition which concluded with great success was an affirmation of the need of the hour for the travel fraternity to ensure they maintain their connections and proactively search for new connections and/or partners that will help them grow their business help grow their brand and build long-term profitable business connections. Last November the first edition received a positive impact from the industry partners as they were provided the opportunity to network with partners from across the globe which targets the Middle East as one of their source markets. It concluded with 40 plus exhibitors, 6000 one-to-one meetings, and 2,500 visitors from 59 countries which included travel agents, tour operators, tourism boards, airlines, hotels, travel management companies and international agencies. Local and international industry leaders attracted viewers with their insightful and engaging panel discussions. The hosted buyer programme along with the leader board motivated buyers to have meetings till the late hour. At the onset of the first virtual event, we provided the platform which depicted that of a real live event, with our state of the art technology. As you enter the event, you were transported to the venue with a very easy to manage menu that enabled you to really enjoy the event without any hassle. The hosted buyers had the opportunity to earn points while visiting each booth and increase chances of making connections and at the end …

flydubai announced the launch of flights to Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The airline will operate three flights a week between Dubai International (DXB) and Minsk National Airport (MSQ) starting from 20 February 2021. flydubai will be the first Dubai-based carrier to offer direct flights on this route.With the addition of Minsk, flydubai will grow its network to more than 70 destinations. The airline has been steadily increasing its operations and has recently announced the start of flights to a number of destinations including Colombo, Doha, Istanbul and the Maldives as well as new routes such as Grozny, Malta, Salzburg and Tel Aviv. Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said: “Minsk is a new destination to join our network and highlights our commitment to open previously underserved markets.  We now operate flights to 72 destinations, more than 40 of which did not previously have direct air links to Dubai or were not served by a UAE national carrier from Dubai.” Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, added,  “flydubai offers passengers convenient connections and an opportunity to travel to 155 destinations through Dubai’s international travel hub.  We offer convenient and reliable travel services to our passengers whether they choose to travel in Business Class or Economy Class. All our passengers can expect a comfortable onboard travel experience. We look forward to welcoming our first passengers on our flights to Minsk.”

Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) announces a strategic partnership with SCAT Airlines that will see the Emirate welcome commercial flights from eight cities in Kazakhstan starting from March 2021. The move strengthens Ras Al Khaimah’s recovery strategy, following its initial focus on domestic tourism before opening up to international markets as travel corridors are established. Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority, commented, “Our partnership with SCAT Airlines is a key milestone in Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism strategy, especially as we co-create a viable tourism vision for ‘new normal’ and post pandemic travel. Visitors from Kazakhstan have enjoyed the genuine hospitality of Ras Al Khaimah for many years and we are thrilled to continue welcoming our valued guests in ways that are meaningful to their travel experience – direct commercial flights from a number of cities in Kazakhstan to our Emirate.” He added, “Aligned with this approach is our commitment to ensure the safety and security of all our guests as they enjoy the warmer weather and take full advantage of Ras Al Khaimah’s many great outdoor attractions from beaches to mountains; culture to adventure and much more.” Vladimir Sytnik, Vice President, SCAT Airlines, commented: SCAT Airlines is excited to commence direct flights once a week to Ras Al Khaimah on 5 March from eight cities of Kazakhstan, including Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Aktobe, Aktau, Atyrau, Uralsk, Karaganda and Shymkent on our Boeing 737-700 NG aircraft.  Our mutual collaboration with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority provides citizens of Kazakhstan with a service that satisfies not only the needs of residents of larger cities but also makes it possible to travel to Ras Al Khaimah …

Tourism Ireland is gearing up for their first ever virtual roadshow with the Middle East travel trade on March 8-9, 2021 between 2pm and 5pm UAE time. Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland stated, “Twenty-five tourism suppliers from around the island of Ireland will be taking part in Tourism Ireland’s first virtual trade show in the Middle East. The two-day B2B event in partnership with TravTalk Middle East aims to promote the island of Ireland’s exciting holiday experiences and to reassure the travel industry that we are ready to welcome their clients as soon as possible. This virtual event will highlight Ireland’s boutique hotels, castles and luxury resorts and self-catering accommodation offerings in addition to the wide variety of superb culinary scene, world-class golf, outdoor, soft adventure and screen tourism experiences on offer across the island, which all boast the necessary safety charter measures.” Siobhan Naughton, Trade Executive Middle East & Asia, stated, “Tourism Ireland is looking forward to hosting its first virtual roadshow in association with TravTalk Middle East for GCC travel trade across the region in March on the 8th and 9th March. Over the course of these two days travel trade will have the opportunity to have 1-2-1 meetings with 25 key Island of Ireland industry partners who will showcase the accommodation, attractions and activity offering across the Island. There will also be an opportunity to meet the team from Tourism Ireland who are based here in the region and to discuss how we can all work together to help to promote this exciting destination.”

Qatar Airways has a steadfast vision to provide the best in-flight experience to its passengers. The airline has been eager to replicate the innovative AVANT experience on their Boeing B787-8 aircraft without disrupting the utilization of the fleet and minimizing down time during the retrofit installation. To achieve this ambition, Thales has developed an upgrade program to adapt the existing legacy system to incorporate new AVANT screens and servers into the existing seats and aircraft infrastructure. This turnkey approach includes delivery of full seat modification, hardware and all required certifications, as well as the ability to leverage media integration commonality across the Qatar Airways’ fleet equipped with AVANT. Salam Al Shawa, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Communications, Qatar Airways said, “As a leader of innovation within the global aviation industry, we are always looking for ways to further enrich our already exceptional 5-Star on board experience for passengers. With the latest in-flight technology, including lightweight screens, greater content storage and full HD touch screens, we are delighted to work with Thales in bringing the most advanced AVANT IFE system on board our Boeing 787-8 fleet.” Upgrading to AVANT IFE on the Boeing B787-8 fleet introduces the latest High Definition (HD), capacitive touch screen technology enabling passengers to seamlessly navigate the graphical user interface (GUI) using familiar gestures from their smartphone or tablet. The lightweight screens are two to three times brighter than the former technology, featuring more than 16 million colors for a brilliant viewing experience.

Second edition of the Gulf Travel Show (GTS) will be held on March 31 and April 1, 2021. GTS with its proprietary exhibition software will help you recover, rebuild and reimagine relationships and products. Our first edition which concluded with great success was an affirmation of the need of the hour for the travel fraternity to ensure they maintain their connections and proactively search for new connections and/or partners that will help them grow their business help grow their brand and build long-term profitable business connections. For more information kindly contact – crisna@ddppl.com +971 55 470 4200; sonia.butalia@ddppl.com +91 96503 1177; nikhil.jeet@ddppl.com Last November the first edition received a positive impact from the industry partners as they were provided the opportunity to network with partners from across the globe which targets the Middle East as one of their source markets. It concluded with 40 plus exhibitors, 6000 one-to-one meetings, and 2,500 visitors from 59 countries which included travel agents, tour operators, tourism boards, airlines, hotels, travel management companies and international agencies. Local and international industry leaders attracted viewers with their insightful and engaging panel discussions. The hosted buyer programme along with the leader board motivated buyers to have meetings till the late hour. At the onset of the first virtual event, we provided the platform which depicted that of a real live event, with our state of the art technology. As you enter the event, you were transported to the venue with a very easy to manage menu that enabled you to really enjoy the event without any hassle. The hosted buyers had the opportunity to earn points while visiting each booth and increase chances of making connections and at …

Cebu Pacific (CEB) has has implemented a new policy setting a size limit for check-in baggage at 39 inches. Luggage with this dimension will be easier to fit in the conveyor belt, and will in turn, result in smoother operations, making the journey faster and more convenient for all passengers. Guests checking in baggage that exceed the 39-inch limit on any one side will be classified as an oversized bag, and will be charged approximately AED62 (PHP800) for domestic flights, and AED100 (PHP1,300) for international flights. This additional fee is brought about by the manual process required to transport the bag to the baggage loading area. Some examples of oversized baggage are music equipment, motorcycles, and televisions. CEB reminds everyone to properly pack their bags according to their availed prepaid baggage allowance to avoid any other additional fees at the airport. In addition, CEB offers an early anniversary treat for everyone with its ongoing free 25-kilogram baggage allowance until June 30, 2021, exclusive for travellers from Dubai to Manila. Passengers with a pre-purchased 40-kilogram prepaid baggage will automatically receive extra 25 kilograms on their booking, free-of-charge. 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 practises and the highest safety standards, so everyone can travel safely and responsibly. Aircraft are equipped with hospital-grade HEPA air filters, which make inflight transmission of COVID-19 low or virtually non-existent.

Qatar Airways that they are Official Airline Partner of the FIFA Club World Cup, hosted in Qatar for the second year running, where the clash of the world’s continental club champions will take place from February 4 – 11, 2021. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament will be organised according to FIFA’s required safety guidelines to uphold the health and safety of all involved in the competition. Education City Stadium and Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium are all set to host the respective matches, with the likes of Ulsan Hyundai (AFC), Al Ahly (CAF), Tigres (CONCACAF) Palmeiras (CONMEBOL), FC Bayern München (UEFA) and host league champions Al Duhail SC (QSL), all set to compete for the most prestigious honour in global club football. In order to ensure a safe and seamless travel experience, the Hamad International Airport team are providing a bespoke operational plan for the teams’ arrivals and departure. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “As we gain momentum towards FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we are delighted to be involved as the Official Airline that brings together the top clubs from every continent, where Qatar will once again be the stage for the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2020™. As the national carrier of the State of Qatar, we look forward to welcoming world-class football teams who will unite fans watching from around the world.”

It was a good six hours of connecting/networking with the travel trade in Middle East and Turkey yesterday as they successfully kicked off their second STB GCC Virtual Roadshow for the Middle East and Turkey. It was a series of very interactive sessions between the buyers from the Middle East region meeting 16 key partners from Singapore. Beverly Au Yong, Area Director, Singapore Tourism Board, Middle East,”This roadshow was the second edition of our STB Virtual trade roadshow, aimed to e-connect 400 outbound travel agents/tour operators from GCC with 15 Singapore service providers for business and networking opportunities. STB conducted successful meetings during the roadshow, showing keen interest by the regional partners to get destination updates and discuss various business prospects. Our efforts to keep Singapore top-of -mind was highly appreciated by all our partners. In addition to this, STB also showcased some reimagined experiences available in Singapore via an interactive map during the roadshow. These experiences were in line with our global initiative ‘SingapoReimagine’ which prompts audiences to reimagine how travel will be like through Singapore’s reimagined offerings.”