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The middle-eastern airline has announced that it is resuming its service to Mykonos, Greece for the summer season - as the destination welcomes visitors once again. Qatar Airways is planning to operate three flights per week using an A320 aircraft.

Abu Dhabi Airports has launched rapid, free COVID-19 PCR testing for all arrivals, alongside partners Pure Health and Tamouh Healthcare. Passengers will not be allowed to leave the airport until the test has been completed – with authorities hoping to provide results in around 90 mins. A new laboratory has the capacity to test more than 20,000 travellers and staff per day.

The UK’s Department of Transport has announced a number of changes to be made to England’s ‘red list’ from 04.00 (GMT) on Friday 19 March 2021. From this date, visitors who have departed from or transited through Ethiopia, Somalia, Oman and Qatar in the previous 10 days will be refused entry to England. Only British and Irish citizens, or those with residence rights (including long-term visa holders) will be permitted to enter; however, they must stay in a government-approved facility for 10 days. It has also been announced however that Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores) and Mauritius will be removed from England’s red list from 04.00 (GMT) on Friday 19 March. This means that passengers arriving to England from these destinations will no longer be required to quarantine in a government-approved facility; however, they must adhere to self-isolation requirements at home and undergo COVID-19 testing on days two and eight.

The country's foreign ministry announced today, 11 March, that France will ease some COVID-19 restrictions on international travel outside of Europe; passengers arriving to or from Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Israel, Japan, Britain and Singapore will no longer need a compelling reason to travel. All other restrictions, such as a requirement for a negative COVID-19 test result obtained no more than 72 hours before travel, will remain in place. An official decree with further, confirmed information is due to be published on 12 March.

The governments of the United Arab Emirates and Israel have reportedly entered formal talks to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor between the two countries to boost bilateral exchange, following a normalisation deal. The travel corridor, which will apply to passengers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, will help facilitate travel for commercial, tourism and official purposes.

The middle-eastern airline has announced that it is set to boost seat capacity on services to the Seychelles this summer, as the destination continues to gradually re-open to international visitors; the Seychelles will be permitting visitors with only need to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained a maximum of 72-hours prior to departure. There will be no quarantine requirement or restriction on movement on those arriving with Qatar Airways via Doha.

The airline has announced that it has extended its COVID-19 global wellness insurance cover until 1 October 2021; the cover is included with every Etihad ticket, providing protection for the first 31 days of a passenger’s trip.

The Dubai-based airline has published an update stating that Emirates’ flights from South Africa will remain suspended until 20 March, in line with government directives that restrict the entry of travellers originating from South Africa, into the UAE. Daily passenger flights to Johannesburg will resume from 11 March and will operate as flight number EK763, however outbound passenger services on flight number EK764 remain suspended.

The Israeli airline today, 8 March, launched a pilot programme at its Tel Aviv airport check-in counters to test unvaccinated passengers for COVID-19, before allowing them to board a non-stop flight to New York. Further testing is due to be carried out by the airline in New York within the next week, before a decision is made on whether to expand the initiative to other flight routes.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will now offer passengers the chance to purchase additional, empty seats when travelling in the economy cabin. Up to three adjoining seats on a flight will be offered to all economy class passengers holding a confirmed booking; passengers will not be able to pre-book empty seats, however, as these are subject to availability. Empty seats will only be offered for purchase at the airport check-in counter prior to flight departure, and costs range from $55-165 USD per empty seat, plus applicable taxes depending on the flight route.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will resume daily flights to New York's Newark Liberty International Airport, via Athens, from 1 June. The addition of Newark via Athens will take Emirates’ U.S. network to 10 destinations following the resumption of services to Seattle, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Washington DC, Dallas and San Francisco (to resume on 2 March).

The country's government has announced that it will now require passengers arriving from some destinations deemed 'high-risk' for COVID-19 to complete 14 days of self-quarantine prior to departure. The new rule applies to a number of African countries including the Republic of Congo, Seychelles, and South Africa, as well as other high-risk locations including Egypt, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, according to the respective Chinese embassy websites. Passengers will also now be requited to take COVID-19 PCR and antibody tests at designated venues within 48 hours of boarding to qualify for a green health code. Upon arrival in China, travellers will not be exempt from standard quarantine requirements.

The airline - the national carrier of Bahrain - has announced that it will resume flights to Singapore from 1 April. Operated by the flagship Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, the Singapore route will be added to Bangkok and Manila in the list of Asian destination offered by the carrier.

The country's government has announced an easing of some local COVID-19 restrictions, following evidence that a vaccine program in the country is proving effective; a number of facilities and services are now able to re-open,including gyms, hotels and synagogues. However, they require a ‘green passport’, a certificate that can only be obtained once you have been vaccinated. In addition, crowds are now allowed back at concerts, and sporting events have reopened at 75% capacity - however they have a cap of no more than 300 people inside and 500 outside. Despite this easing of local restrictions, Israel's main airport in Tel Aviv will remain closed for a further two weeks.

The country's civil aviation authority has announced that it has submitted a proposal to Kuwait's government for the lifting of a flight suspension on services travelling directly from a list of 35 countries deemed 'high-risk' for COVID-19. The proposal would however stipulate that all passengers would be required to undergo a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine and two COVID-19 PCR tests at their own expense; the flight suspension was first announced on 1 August and incuded 31 countries, with more later added.

The low-cost Kuwait-based airline has announced that it will be launching direct flights between Kuwait and the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo twice per week; the first service is due to depart on 21 February.

The country's government has announced the extended closure of Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport to all inbound and outbound passenger flights through to 21 February, in an effort to combat the spread of new COVID-19 variants; all land border crossings will also remain closed through to 21 February. During this period, officials will only allow travel to and from Israel in exceptional circumstances subject to approval; the closures apply to both foreign nationals and Israeli nationals. Israeli authorities also announced on 4 February that all arriving international travelers will be subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine at government-designated facilities.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will re-instate outbound passengers flights from the UK from tomorrow, 2 February. Initially this will include a daily flight from London Heathrow and four weekly from Manchester; services from Birmingham and Glasgow will continue to be cargo-only. Passengers traveling from the UK should ensure they are permitted to travel as per latest the UK government advisory, and check the local entry requirements of their destination.

The middle-eastern airline has announced that it will be resuming flights to Moscow from 2 March, in addition to once again connecting to other destinations such as the Maldives and Zanzibar from its Doha hub. The airline is to resume three flights per week to Moscow, operated by an Airbus A320 offering 12 seats in business class and 120 seats in economy.

The Abu Dhabi-based low-cost airline has announced that from 21 May it will begin operating two flights per week between London Luton Airport and the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina; in addition, Wizz Air is also increasing frequencies on flights to Suceava, Romania; Athens, Greece; Reykjavik, Iceland; and Dalaman, Turkey.