Search alerts

The city’s mayor has implemented quarantine check points at key entry points to the city, to ensure that travelers coming from 35 states on New York’s travel advisory comply with the 14-day quarantine mandate issued by the state in June. Travelers coming in from those states will be given information about the quarantine and will be reminded that it is required, not optional; fines for not observing the requirements could reportedly be as high as USD10,000.

The regional government of Spain's Canary Islands has announced that all tourists visiting the islands will have any potential COVID-19 related costs covered. This includes both medical costs and any possible required extension of holidays required in the case of quarantine measures undertaken while visitors are on the islands. Included among the Canary Islands are the popular European holiday destinations of Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Tenerife and La Palma.

The airline has continued their restructuring process after having previously secured a £1.2bn recapitalisation deal to secure their future post-COVID-19. This process yesterday, 4 August, involved attending court hearings in both the UK and U.S. as a formality; during the U.S. hearing a Chapter 15 process was filed, which is a mechanism to allow the airline to continue proceedings in the UK despite their multi-national assets. It should be noted that this is not a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, and restructuring is continuing as planned.

The Montréal-based airline has announced that from 1 November it will have resumed flights to a total of 40 destinations for the winter season across the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, the U.S., Europe and domestically within Canada. As well as this, Air Transat is presenting even more flexible options to book, change or cancel a trip, and are ensuring a safe experience with its 'Traveller Care' program.

The airline has added further destinations to its summer flight schedule, including the news that from September weekly services will be added to both Gran Canaria and Tenerife. Other destinations that already have recently resumed include Kalamata, Preveza, Skiathos, Skiros, Cagliari, Olbia, Catania and Ibiza.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that its passenger flight network will now grow to 70 destinations with the inclusion of Kuwait City from 5 August and Lisbon from 16 August. This will account for over 50% of Emirates' pre-pandemic destination network, as the airline gradually resumes operations with the safety of its customers, crew and communities as its top priority.

The airline has announced that it is now mandatory for passengers to wear a face mask if they're flying to, from or within the Australian state of Victoria. When travelling from or within Victoria, passengers need to wear a mask as soon as they enter the airport and also inflight. When travelling to Victoria from outside of the state, passengers need to wear their mask during boarding, in-flight and on arrival.

The government of Greece has announced that from 18 August it will extend mandatory requirements for the wearing of face masks to passengers travelling on the decks of ferries between its islands; last week the country had already made mask-wearing mandatory in all indoor public spaces, and also in outdoor spaces where proper social distancing cannot be observed.

U.S. based line Crystal Cruises have taken the decision to cancel the remainder of their 2020 sailings, citing the uncertainty of the global COVID-19 pandemic; this includes all ocean cruises on the Crystal Symphony, Crystal Serenity and Crystal Esprit. The operator recently launched health and safety protocols and procedures, Crystal Clean+ 2.0, for when services eventually resume.

The country's government has announced that it has stopped all cruise ships with more than 100 people on board from disembarking in Norwegian ports for 14 days effective yesterday, 3 August; this follows a recent outbreak of COVID-19 on board a ship operated by Norwegian company Hurtigruten. Any ships that have not yet departed will not be able to dock at Norwegian ports while the restriction is in effect.

The brand, who own and operate luxury resorts across predominantly Mexico and the Caribbean, have published update and adjusted re-opening dates for a number of their resorts. If guests with advance bookings have been affected by extended closure, they are to be granted additional flexibility for re-booking and a complimentary extra night.

British Airways has resumed flying to a number of popular holiday destinations, among a number of other route resumptions announced as part of an update to their August-September schedule. Flights to Bari, Bastia, Bodrum, Bordeaux, Catania, Figari, Kefalonia, Malta, Paphos and Pula have resumed; while in long-haul, Antigua, Nairobi and Islamabad are now operating. Also notable is that from September, the service from London Heathrow to New York JFK will double in frequency and become daily.

British Airways have confirmed that they have stopped their historic BA1/BA2 service from London City Airport to New York JFK - a 32-seat all business class service which made a re-fuelling stop in Shannon, Ireland where passengers could also clear US customs prior to arrival in New York. The service had operated since 2009 using flight numbers previously owned by Concorde.

The country's government has announced three amendments from 6 August to the list of countries from which Cyprus accepts visitors. Greece will move from category A to B, meaning a COVID-19 test certificate must now be obtained within 72 hours of departure. Thailand will move from category B to A, meaning arrivals to Cyprus are now not required to self-isolate or be tested. Finally, Morocco will move from category B to C, meaning most passengers are not permitted to enter, and those who are eligible must be tested and self-isolate. In addition, all passengers must apply for a 'CyprusFlightPass' within 24 hours of their departure, and present this at passport control when they arrive in the country.

The Caribbean island-nation is still set to re-open to international visitors from 7 August; passengers must submit an online health form and a negative COVID-19 PCR test prior to departure, plus be subject to temperature checks and rapid testing on arrival. Passengers passing all requirements will be taken to one of eight approved properties for their stay - anyone who tests positive will be subject to mandatory quarantine in other facilities.

Lufthansa has announced that it has now resumed the operation of flights to six airports in the UK and Ireland, following the reinstatement of additional UK routes; this includes links from the airline's hub in Frankfurt to both Edinburgh and Glasgow, to which flights are available six and five times per week respectively. A daily service from Munich to the UK's Birmingham airport is also now operational - from Munich, Lufthansa offers onward connections to destinations including Turkey and the Greek island of Rhodes.

The local government of the Australian state of Queensland (QLD) has announced that its borders with New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will close from 01.00 (local time) on 8 August. All visitors will be denied entry with few exceptions, and returning Queensland residents will incur the cost of a 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine.

The country eased entry restrictions for some visitors on 1 August, allowing citizens and residents of Canada, the European Union, Schengen Zone countries and the UK to enter; flights originating from these countries will also now be permitted. Among the additional requirements are a COVID-19 certificate obtained no more than 48 hours before departure, purchase of a specific Costa Rican insurance product and online completion of an advance epidemiological information form.

The government of Singapore have announced that some incoming passengers will be required to wear electronic monitoring tags from 11 August in order to ensure that they comply with COVID-19 quarantine requirements, as the city-state gradually re-opens its borders. The devices will use GPS and Bluetooth signals and must be activated upon reaching a passenger's home; any attempt to leave home during the mandatory quarantine period or tamper with the device will trigger an alert to the authorities.

The country resumed commercial flights from 1 August, following the closure of airports in March due to COVID-19. Passengers arriving in Chad will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test certificate dated no more than 72 hours prior to arrival; individuals must also surrender their passport and self-quarantine for seven days. On the seventh day they are required to take a further COVID-19 test ,and upon presentation of the test receipt, their passport will be returned.