Search alerts

U.S. low-cost airline Southwest Airlines has announced a partnership with COVID-19 testing provider CityHealth Urgent Care, to bring pre-flight testing to California's San Jose International Airport for passengers bound for the state of Hawaii; testing will be available for as little as $20 (USD) via the airline, who are one of three carriers now providing this service from the airport.

The country's government has announced that it will extend current COVID-19 'lockdown' measures until at least 7 March amid concerns over new variants of the virus. The measures were previously due to expire on 14 February.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has published updated information for Cuba to reflect that since 6 February, the country has been requiring most international arrivals to quarantine for five days upon arrival, with the exception of those that are part of an organised tour group; business travellers are not exempt from this measure, which also includes COVID-19 testing on day three with results by day five. The Cuban government has created a list of approved quarantine hotels for tourists arriving in the country, with costing up to $846 (USD) per person with airport transfers and three meals a day. All passengers are also required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result on arrival, obtained no more than no 72 hours prior to arrival.

The government of Denmark has announced that passengers arriving in the country must now take a COVID-19 test upon arrival, and then proceed to self-isolate for 10 days; however, it is possible to shorten the isolation period if a negative test result is obtained no earlier than the fourth day after entry into Denmark. Limited exemptions apply, and all non-residents entering Denmark must in addition show both a worthy cause for travel and proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) result taken no more than 24 hours before boarding the aircraft. Danish nationals and residents must also present a negative COVID-19 test.

The country's government has announced that it aims to re-open its land borders with neighbouring countries from as early as 15 February, albeit with strict protocols in place; this includes the deployment of additional healthcare workers, ticketing systems for COVID-19 testing and queue limits. The queue between the Weighbridge and Beitbridge border post, for example, will be limited to just 700 metres. Current travel regulations require all persons entering South Africa from abroad – whether via land or air – to present a negative COVID-19 test result.

The United States Transport Security Administration (TSA) has announced that passengers in the U.S. can now be fined for refusing to wear face masks during transit to limit the transmission of COVID-19; passengers will be fine between $250 and $1500 (USD) if in breach of these new measures on aircraft and other forms of public transportation such as trains and buses. Exempted from the requirement are children under two years old and people with a disability or medical exemption. The mask mandate is effective until at least 11 May.

The UK government has today, 9 February, announced further updates to COVID-19 border measures due to take effect from 15 February; from this date, all international arrivals, whether subject to home quarantine or hotel quarantine, will be required by law to take two further COVID-19 PCR tests on day two and day eight of that quarantine. In addition, UK and Irish residents entering England from 33 “red list” countries will be required to book a mandatory hotel quarantine stay through an online booking platform, at a cost of £1750 for an individual travelling alone - this package will include the hotel stay, transport and testing. A booking platform for both of these initiatives is due to go live on Thursday 11 February, when full guidance will reportedly be published. A raft of penalties, including large fines and imprisonment, will also be introduced for anyone in breach of these rules. The devolved UK nations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are expected to announce similar, confirmed measures shortly.

The airline has announced that due to national COVID-19 'lockdown' measures in the UK, as well as travel restrictions in many of the destinations in which they operate, they have been forced to make a number of schedule changes to their flight routes. Among them are the services between the UK and both Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, which will remain suspended until 28 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.

Rwanda's national airline has announced the suspension of its flights to the cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town, Lusaka and Harare until further notice, effective as of 8 February. The action has been taken in response t concerns over the spread of COVID-19 variants, and scheduled flights will reportedly resume as soon as there is more clarity on the situation going forwards.

The country's government has announced updated COVID-19 entry requirements effective from today, 8 February; passengers arriving to Switzerland by air must now present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result to airline staff prior to boarding, with passengers to be fined for not complying. Arrivals from countries deemed 'high-risk' for the virus must quarantine on arrival, with limited qualifying factors allowing some passengers to shorten this isolation period. International arrivals by air, boat, bus or train must also complete an online contact tracing form.

The country's government has published updated COVID-19 entry requirements; among them, international arrivals require a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained a maximum of 72 hours prior to arrival, with further screening measures and COVID-19 testing applicable on arrival at the destination airport. Passengers will need to wait for the results of their post-arrival testing in a designated transit hotel and then continue to self-isolate for a further seven days on release. Passengers departing from the country must also present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained a maximum of 120 hours prior to travel. Locally, restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19 are still in place throughout the country, including specific measures in the city of Kigali; among them, a curfew is in place from 19.00 to 04.00 (local time) across the country, other non-essential movement is restricted and face masks must be worn in public.

The airline has announced that it will resume scheduled air services between Johannesburg and Sishen, a large iron mine located in Kathu, in South Africa's Northern Cape. The route will resume from 15 February 2021 and is being relaunched to provide vital air connectivity to the crucial mining centre.

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 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 government of Cyprus has announced the adoption of new measures from 6 February to impose both a mandatory 72 hour self-isolation period, and a requirement for COVID-19 arrival testing for passengers arriving in the country from destinations classified as category 'A' and 'B' on the basis of their COVID-19 risk levels. A curfew remains in place between 21.00 and 05.00 (local time) and other restrictions on movement and gatherings apply.

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.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that its flights to South Africa will now remain suspended until at least 28 February, in line with recent government directives.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will not accept non-Kuwaiti nationals on flights to Kuwait from 7 to 20 February 2021, with limited exemptions; in addition, it will also not accept non-Saudi nationals on flights to Saudi Arabia, until further notice.

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has reported that the government and military of Myanmar have directed airports to close, with all domestic and international commercial passenger flights to remain suspended until 31 May at the earliest.