oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance are jointly calling on governments and stakeholders to take action to alleviate the unprecedented challenges faced by the global airline industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The three global alliances, which represent almost 60 airlines around the world that contribute more than half of global airline capacity, are strongly supporting a request by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for regulators to suspend slot usage rules for the northern summer 2020 season as the airline industry suffers from extraordinary reductions in passenger demand. Rob Gurney, CEO, oneworld, said, “During such times of difficulty and uncertainty, it is important that the airline industry works even closer with stakeholders to mitigate adverse impacts from the virus and collaborate in areas within our control. Governments must implement the measures they consider necessary to contain the spread of COVID-19, and must be prepared for the widescale economic implications that will result from those measures.” Kristin Colvile, CEO and Managing Director, SkyTeam, said, “The human and financial impact that the COVID-19 outbreak is having on the aviation industry is unprecedented. We are urging all involved institutions and industry stakeholders to face these extraordinary times with exceptional measures. This includes action such as slot relief, airport and overflight fees reduction. Jeffrey Goh, CEO, Star Alliance, said, “The unprecedented circumstances triggered by the coronavirus outbreak pose an existential threat not only to the airline industry but more generally to global trade and commerce, and social connectivity. As airlines stretch their limits to manage the crisis, it is equally critical for governments and stakeholders to avoid further burdens and step up with measures, as some have, that will ensure the future of the travel …

Cebu Pacific and Cebgo has suspended all flights between Dubai and Manila from March 19 until April 14, 2020, in accordance with the Philippine government’s directive. The passengers who have flights booked on March 18, 2020 on the Dubai-Manila route will function as scheduled. However, passengers affected by the change will receive notifications via their contact details as shared while booking the tickets. Cebu Pacific is ensuring the safety of their passengers and operations teams, in support of stricter quarantine measures, land travel restrictions and regulations in place. For the health and safety of their passengers and personnel, all Cebu Pacific ticket offices will be closed during this period. The airline continues to monitor the situation and will provide updates as soon as possible.

Etihad Airways has implemented a series of consolidated network changes, due to the spread of the COVID-19 and its continuing impact on air travel services globally. This is also being carried out for the safety and convenience of its customers and staff, and to minimise operational disruption during this period. The following services from Abu Dhabi have been temporarily adjusted; Milan (MXP)-all flights suspended until 30 April; Rome (FCO)-EY85/86 suspended until April 30 and EY83/84 suspended until June 30; Beirut (BEY)-all flights suspended from March 16 until March 31; Istanbul (IST)-all flights suspended from March 16 until March 31; Casablanca (CMN) and Rabat (RBA)-all flights suspended from March 16 until March 31; Amman (AMM)-all flights suspended from March 17 until March 31; Madrid (MAD) and Barcelona (BCN)-all flights suspended from March 17 until March 31; Jakarta (CGK)-reduced from double-daily to daily (suspension of EY472/471) from March 18 until June 30; Seoul (ICN)-reduced from daily to four weekly (operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays) from March 30 to April 30; Hong Kong (HKG)-all flights suspended until June 30; Bangkok (BKK)-reduced from triple-daily to double-daily (suspension of EY406/405) from March 21 to May 02. The following previously announced network changes remain in place; Riyadh (RUH), Jeddah (JED), Dammam (DMM), Medina (MED)-all flights suspended from March 16 until March 31; Kuwait (KWI)-all flights suspended until March 31; Bahrain (BAH)-reduced from triple-daily to double-daily until March 31; Muscat (MCT)-reduced from triple-daily to double-daily until March 31; Shanghai (PVG)-all flights suspended until March 28; Chengdu (CTU)-all flights suspended until further notice; Nagoya (NGO)-all flights suspended until June 30.

Rotana announced the opening of DAMAC Towers Arjaan by Rotana in early April. Located on King Fahd Road, the twin-tower architectural landmark offers a total of 448 luxurious rooms, suites and penthouses. The hotel features state-of-the-art amenities such as meeting and events facilities, a wellness and fitness centre, separate temperature-controlled swimming pools for men and women, and a well-equipped gymnasium, among others. Guy Hutchinson, President and CEO of Rotana, said, “This exciting new property marks the Saudi debut of the Arjaan Hotel Apartments by Rotana brand, further enhancing our diverse portfolio in the Kingdom and bringing elegant city living to the heart of Riyadh. Offering the finest in extended-stay, we have no doubt that this hotel will become a preference for travellers looking for a luxurious home-away-from-home experience.” “Despite the current global situation, we remain optimistic about the Kingdom’s tourism performance and the region as a whole. Governments in various countries are focusing strongly on economic diversification, and with tourism playing a central role in these efforts we look forward to a bright future for the hospitality industry,” added Hutchinson.

Effective June 1, 2020, Etihad Airways will transfer all its flights to and from Abu Dhabi and Beijing, and its flights to and from Beijing to Nagoya, Japan, to Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Since launching flights between Beijing and Abu Dhabi 12 years ago, we have experienced huge growth in China’s tourism and aviation markets, and enjoyed strong demand from business and leisure travellers, and cargo, assisted by direct services, codeshare partners, the mutual visa-exemption policy between the two nations implemented in January 2018, and the great joint efforts put into promoting bi-directional routes. The move also further reinforces our commitment to the China market and our Chinese guests, and contributes to the promising bilateral relationship. “Whilst the spread of COVID-19 has posed a major challenge for all airlines serving China, with a massive drop in demand on key routes, we remain optimistic that the situation will improve by the summer and we continue serving Beijing from Abu Dhabi presently, demonstrating our unwavering support and commitment to our Chinese partners and the China market as a whole,” Kamark added. Maarten de Groof, Chief Commercial Officer, Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Our sister-airport partnership with Beijing’s brand new airport reflects the importance of our long-standing relationship with the Chinese airport sector. Such cooperation and the ever-growing popularity of Abu Dhabi as a destination has enabled this transfer of flights to Beijing’s new airport and we look forward to continue working with Etihad and our Chinese colleagues to enhance our partnership at all levels in the years ahead.”

Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) revealed that the emirate recorded a three per cent growth in the number of hotel guests in 2019 as compared to 2018. The sector welcomed approximately 1.8 million guests last year with a hotel occupancy rate of 66 per cent. In terms of nationalities, guests from the Russian Federation topped the list, followed by GCC countries such as KSA and Oman, and then India. H.E Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, Chairman, SCTDA, said, “The emirate witnessed robust inflows of tourists throughout last year, thanks to the emirate’s major achievements in terms of the launch of new recreation facilities, tourism initiatives and related activities. Sharjah’s higher hotel occupancy rates can be attributed to the success of the initiatives and projects implemented in line with the vision of H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, to further enhance the emirate’s position on the global tourism landscape.” Al Midfa noted that by the end of 2019, the emirate had more than 10,000 hotel rooms, comprising 1,331 rooms in nine 5-star hotels; 2,733 rooms in 21 4-star hotels; as well as thirty one in one to three-star hotels; and 2,485 apartments in 40 hotel apartment facilities. Furthermore, six new 5-star and 4-star hotels were inaugurated last year, and more than seven new hotel projects are expected to be unveiled in 2020. This reflects Sharjah’s growth as a must-visit destination for families, business travellers and those seeking exciting tourism and recreation activities, and highlights investor confidence in Sharjah’s flourishing tourism sector.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed the announcement by the European Commission (EC) granting the temporary suspension until June 2020 of the 80-20 ‘use it or lose it’ rule for airport slots. The decision reflects the unprecedented situation facing the airline industry. However, granting the suspension only until June is the very minimum the industry needs, and a decision on a full suspension until October will be needed within the next month to allow airlines to plan their schedules. The COVID-19 virus has caused a collapse in global air travel demand. Owing to the requirement to continue to operate an airport slot for at least 80 per cent of the time, airlines have been unable to respond by adjusting their capacity. The suspension of the slot use rules until June will allow airlines to begin putting in place measures to cope with the unprecedented fall in traffic, but it is a shorter period than airlines had requested. Airlines need the suspension to be extended to cover the whole season (to October), as other regulators worldwide have already agreed. The EC will therefore need to review the extension request by April 15. “The collapse in demand is unprecedented. And airlines are struggling to match capacity to the fast-changing situation. The commission’s decision to suspend slot use rules until June means that airlines can make these critical decisions immediately—without worrying about the impact on future availability of slots. However, given all the uncertainties, it is disappointing that the decision does not cover the full season. Airlines are implementing emergency measures under severe cashflow conditions. Along with relaxing slot rules, governments must also consider other forms of emergency relief,” said Rafael Schvartzman, …

Cebu Pacific will continue to operate flights from Dubai to Manila. However, all their domestic flights will be cancelled to and from Manila from March 15 until April 14, in line with Philippine government’s directive for a community quarantine over Metro Manila to contain the spread of the COVID-19. Cebu Pacific is in the process of completing the cancellation of domestic flights from their system. Once done, they will enable its passengers to manage their bookings online to avail of either a full refund, rebooking with waived change fees or booking conversion to travel fund. Notifications will immediately be sent to affected passengers via email addresses provided to CEB upon booking. Bookings can be managed online so passengers need not go to the ticket offices.

Mirdif City Centre has put together a pop up concept for the Dubai food festival this year with a Chef’s Table with emirati chefs serving scrumptious offerings to attract more visitors. Shopping and food go hand in hand with the GCC tourists and it is the perfect time to activate the spirit as there are great deals from food to home ware. It’s a rare treat for visitors to the mall to actually taste food cooked and served by emirati celebrity chefs so this year in keeping with the Dubai tourism initiative to attract more visitors the Chef’s table will most probably be a popular choice. The first celebrity Chef who kicked off the Chef’s Table was Chef Faisal Naser, whose background is in science majoring in genetics from the University of Leeds but the passion he had for culinary arts made him take up a second career as a celebrity chef after his day job. Faisal is half emirati and half Kuwaiti, obtained a diploma at the Ashburton cookery school, worked part time in restaurants in Leeds England and specialised himself in Italian cuisine. As a local Emirati, culinary for a guy is a rare dedication, so he said that at the beginning it was not easy to convince the family however, after social media disrupted the way people think and exposed them to more avenues he managed to convince his family to take up this profession as a second career. So in a few months he hopes to have his own restaurant in Abu Dhabi that will serve authentic cuisine, each day there will be a different menu and every ingredient that goes in the food will be …

Umm Al Emarat Park marks its five-year anniversary since reopening in 2015, after undergoing a two-year redevelopment. Since then, the Park has established itself as a top green destination, attracting more than 3.5 million guests and visitors from around the world and hosting more than 250 local, regional and international events. In the past five years, the Park hosted three Guinness World Records, including the world’s longest handshake, the largest variety of desserts served, and the signing of the tolerance plaque. In 2016 and 2017, Umm Al Emarat Park won the prestigious Green Flag Award, joining the ranks of 1,600 green spaces across the UK, Republic of Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Park has become a popular choice for schools seeking learning through play. By partnering with around 400 schools, more than 80,000 students have been given an opportunity to explore the animals, plants and rich ecosystem of the Park and learn about Bedouin history and culture. Rasha Kablawi, Head of Umm Al Emarat Park’s Corporate Affairs and Communication Department said, “Our success is due to the rich and sustainable ecosystem available at the Park, state-of-the-art facilities and year-round programming and events for all ages and backgrounds. The Park is an outdoor classroom, a place to rediscover leisure and wellness, a calming space to unplug from the city and reconnect with nature, and above all a meeting place for family and friends.”