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Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that all overseas travellers must undergo mandatory quarantine in hotels. The approach differs from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s targeted quarantine system, under which self-isolation in hotels managed by authorities is mandatory for arrivals from "high-risk" countries.

The government of the Canadian province of Ontario is mandating COVID-19 testing for all arriving international passengers, as part of what they call a six-point plan to battle COVID-19 variants. This new measure took effect as of 00.01 (local time) today, 1 February.

Due to travel restriction put in place, please note Asky has suspended operations to/from Johannesburg effective 31ST Jan – 30TH May.

The Turkish low-cost airline has announced that it is increasing the number of direct flights that it offers from the Turkish city of Antalya, with the launch of a new service to Moldova's capital of Chisinau; the inaugural flight on the new route will operate from 23 April.

“The German government has decided on Friday, January 29, further restrictions on travel. The airlines of the Lufthansa Group will implement these new entry regulations for flights to Germany accordingly. These will apply for the period effective January 30 until February 17, 2021, for passengers traveling from South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Brazil and Portugal to Germany. Under the new order from German authorities, Lufthansa Group may only carry passengers with German citizenship or permanent residence permits to Germany. In addition, connecting passengers may likewise continue to use these flights, provided they do not enter Germany and continue to a non-Schengen country. All passengers must present a negative Corona test prior to departure. This valid PCR, antigen or LAMP tests must all comply with guidelines of the German Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and they must not be older than 48 hours when entering Germany. Lufthansa intends to continue offering flights to the countries mentioned. The airline is closely monitoring the current situation and adjusts its flight schedules as necessary.”

Qatar Airlines have temporarily suspended acceptance of new bookings from South Africa to the UK until further notice

Emirates’ flights to South Africa will remain suspended until 12th February 2021, in line with recent government directives.

Middle-eastern airlines Emirates and Etihad have announced the immediate suspension of UK flights from 13.00 (GMT) today, 29 January; the measures have been taken in response to an update from the UK government in which it added the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its 'red list' of countries. This means that people who have been in or transited through the UAE (plus Burundi and Rwanda who were also added yesterday) will be denied entry to the UK, with the exception of UK and Irish nationals, and third country nationals with residence in the UK. Emirates announced it would suspend all U.K. passenger flights from 1300 (GMT) today, when the UK measures take effect. Etihad said it would only suspend flights arriving in the UK, with those departing remaining unaffected.

British Airways has cancelled additional flights from Johannesburg to Heathrow up until *16 April 2021 inclusive and from Cape Town to Heathrow up until *16 April 2021 inclusive (*subject to change).

The airline has announced a new requirement for passengers arriving into its hub airport in Dubai from 31 January from any point of origin; all passengers must hold a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate, for which a negative result must have been obtained from a test taken a maximum of 72 hours prior to departure. Nationals of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are exempt, but must still take a COVID-19 PCR test on arrival at Dubai International Airport. Passengers transiting through Dubai must also continue to ensure that they comply with the entry requirements of their respective destination country.

Lufthansa and SWISS are partnering with Airlin, to offer customers access to over 25 domestic destinations in South Africa. The interline agreement allows customers the convenience of purchasing a single ticket to or from a multitude of destinations in Southern Africa. The Lufthansa Group is pleased to offer customers, even more, travel convenience through this partnership.

Middle-eastern airline Qatar Airways has announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with low-cost South African carrier Mango Airlines; the move will allow greater connectivity for regional travel throughout South Africa, for passengers travelling to or from the middle east, in addition to those travelling onto destinations in Qatar's global network via its hub in Doha.

The airline has outlined plans to restore a 'significant' proportion of its international flight network by the end of 2021, with frequency increases on key routes to the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Among these increases in frequency are plans to offer a daily flight from the country's capital of Kuala Lumpur to the UK by July. In Australia, the airline has said that it expects to operate 39 weekly return flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth by late December; services to New Zealand are set to resume from late March.

The middle-eastern airline has confirmed plans to continue to grow its African flight network to over 100 weekly flights to 23 destination cities. In addition to the current network, Qatar Airways has resumed services to a number of destinations, or is due to resume them by 1 February; these destinations include Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt; Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, South Africa; Tunis, Tunisia and Casablanca, Morocco.

The airline has unveiled updated capability on its mobile app, ahead of a new requirement from 26 January for passengers arriving in the U.S. to show either a negative COVID-19 test result from within 72 hours of departure, or proof that they have recovered from the virus within the previous 90 days. United Airlines passengers can now upload the required documentation directly to the app for verification prior to their airport arrival.

The Dubai-based airline has confirmed that its flights to South Africa will remain suspended until at least 4 February, in line with recent directives from the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which restrict entry to passengers originating in South Africa. Passengers travelling from third country destinations and holding tickets with a final destination in South Africa will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin by Emirates; affected passengers should contact their travel agent or Emirates contact centre for rebooking options.

Dubai government-owned budget airline flydubai has announced that it is adding an additional four destinations to its European flight network, taking the total on the continent to 20. The upcoming routes, which will begin from May, are Catania and Naples in Italy, Salzburg in Austria and the island of Malta. This will take the total global destination list to 65 destinations worldwide.

The U.S. airline has confirmed that the start of a new, direct flight route between South Africa's Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport and New York's Newark Liberty International Airport has been delayed until 3 June. It was previously due to start from March 2021 - however the decision to delay has been made in response to current demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 1 February, passengers age 6 years or older will be required to wear medical grade masks on German airlines and at airports in Germany. The rule will apply to passengers flying the Lufthansa Group carriers, which include Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels, Eurowings and Swiss; it will also apply to on Condor and TUI fly Deutschland flights as well as to anyone in passenger areas at German airports. Under the rule, surgical masks or N95 masks will be permitted - cloth face coverings and masks with an outlet valve will not be allowed, and passengers must supply the masks themselves.

All non-residents entering Denmark must show a worthy cause for travel and proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen test) taken no more than 24 hours before boarding the aircraft. Danish nationals and residents must also present a negative COVID-19 test. Additional entry restrictions apply to residents from the UK and South Africa. Direct flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Denmark are banned from 22 to 26 January 2021. Also, COVID-19 tests taken in the UAE between these dates won't be accepted. If you're travelling to Denmark from the UAE on a continuous journey (transferring at one or more airports), you'll have to take a test in another country before boarding the final flight to Denmark.