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Saudi Arabia removed the UAE, Argentina, and South Africa from its entry-banned country list and re-allowed citizens to travel to the three countries starting September 8, state TV reported on Tuesday. The Ministry of Interior said the decision was based on the Kingdom's evaluation of the current Covid-19 situation, state media reported. The Saudi ministry has, however, stressed the importance of adhering to all the precautionary measures, according to a Saudi Press Agency report.

Bahrain has now eased travel restrictions for Indians by withdrawing it from the red list. The Embassy of India in Bahrain in a tweet informed that Indian nationals with a valid visa are eligible to enter Bahrain with effect from September 3, 2021 subject to conditions.

Israel will allow small foreign tour groups from selected countries to visit from 19 September under a pilot program to kick-start tourism. Tour groups of 5 – 30 people from countries on Israel's green, yellow, and orange lists will be allowed to enter the country, provided all group members have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Foreign tourists must show proof they have received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine within the last six months, or a booster shot. They must also show a negative PCR test, taken up to 72 hours before arrival, and undergo a serological test once they land at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.

Fully vaccinated South Africans can now visit Canada for non-essential purposes without needing to quarantine. After a tentative reopening plan, the updated regulations were finalised and came into effect today 7 September. Children between the ages of 12 and 17 need to be vaccinated to avoid quarantine. However, vaccines in South Africa have not yet been approved for anyone under the age of 18, so teenagers will still need to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has announced that it is prepared for a boost in travel to and from Abu Dhabi following the government’s announcement to remove the quarantine requirement for all vaccinated travellers arriving from abroad. Fully vaccinated travellers with vaccines approved by the World Health Organisation can arrive from all international destinations without the need to quarantine. All travellers will require a PCR test within 48 hours of departure, a test on arrival and retesting on select days depending on the country they have travelled from. Unvaccinated travellers, however, should follow the rules according to the destination they are arriving from.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has confirmed a further extension to its reopening plans with the Phuket Sandbox 7+7 programme. The new system will provide fully-vaccinated international travellers with even more options to visit multiple Thai destinations bringing back the opportunity to enjoy multicentre, island-hopping itineraries, without the need to quarantine.The decision, however, comes against a backdrop of Thailand being added to the red list in the UK.

The striking and familiar livery of SAA will once again be visible in the skies as the airline resumes operations on Thursday, the 23rd of September 2021. Flights will open for ticket sales on Thursday, 26 th of August 2021 with Voyager bookings and Travel Credit Voucher redemption available from Monday, 6th of September 2021. The first phase of rebuilding SAA’s network will see the launch of flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo with more destinations to be added as market conditions allow.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced that the EU Digital Covid-19 Certificate (DCC) and UK NHS Covid-19 Pass can now be uploaded into IATA Travel Pass. Both act as verified proof of vaccination for travel. Travelers holding an EU DCC or UK NHS Covid Pass can now access accurate Covid-19 travel information for their journey, create an electronic version of their passport and import their vaccination certificate in one place.

Emirates will restart flights to Newcastle Airport (NCL) from October 15th, responding to the easing of international entry protocols and an upsurge in passenger demand. The airline will resume services to the north-eastern hub with four weekly flights, all operated by B777 aircraft, across two classes.

Air Astana has unveiled plans to resume direct flights from Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, to London Heathrow. The service will return on September 18th, initially with two frequencies per week on Saturdays and Wednesdays. Flights will be operated by the latest Airbus A321LR aircraft, with the flight time being seven hours and 15 minutes outbound to London and six hours and 30 minutes on the return to Nur-Sultan

Emirates and Airlink have announced the expansion of their existing partnership into a unilateral codeshare agreement. The deal is designed to give travellers to and from South Africa convenient access to more than 40 domestic and regional destinations across 12 African countries. The extended codeshare provides connectivity to Emirates’ customers not offered by any other carrier in Africa, and augments the long-standing partnership that Emirates has with South African Airways.

Oman Air is increasing weekly flight frequencies from Muscat to Salalah in response to demand for travel during the Khareef season. An average of 41 weekly flights will be offered in each direction during August, up from 18 last month. Both Muscat-to-Salalah and Salalah-to-Muscat reached a total of 41 weekly flights and 7,820 weekly seats each way, for a grand total of 82 weekly flights and 15,640 weekly seats.

Ryanair has unveiled plans to add 11 new routes to its schedule this winter - perfect for those who missed out on a summer getaway. The schedule now includes over 2,000 weekly flights to over 400 destinations. Departures include new trips from Birmingham to Bucharest, Vilnius, Milan Bergamo and Turin, as well as flights from Bournemouth to Budapest and Wrocław.

Emirates is responding to a spike in travel demand across its network through the scaling up of its operations. The decision follows a recent announcements that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) would be added to the amber list in the UK. At the same time, the UAE has eased entry protocols for 12 countries, including South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nigeria and Afghanistan.

The latest update for South African residents wanting to travel to Spain reveals that SA is on a list of high-risk countries. Although there are no more restrictions on flights from South Africa a 10-day quarantine will apply for anyone coming from South Africa to Spain. Quarantine could be finalised sooner if on the seventh day a negative result for an infection-diagnostic test can be shown. Travellers from South Africa are limited to those who are residents in Spain or Andorra and spouses of Spanish citizens, with few exceptions.

After two months of not flying, BA Comair and kulula return to the skies from 01 September 2021

According to the Emirates Airlines, transit passengers must have a negative COVID-19 test certificate issued within 72 hours before departure. From 9 August 2021, this certificate must have been issued by a laboratory that uses a QR code system – no others will be accepted. The airline approves the Ampath, APS, Pathcare and Lancet laboratories in South Africa. No transit over 10 hours will be allowed and STPCs will not be offered to passengers while transiting through Dubai International Airport.

Emirates airline on Thursday said customers flying to and from any destination in Africa can check-in up to 64kg of free baggage. Effective August 9, customers travelling in First and Business class on any Africa route can check in up to 64kg of free baggage or two pieces of 32kg each, regardless of where in the Emirates global network they are headed to or travelling from. Customers flying in Economy class on Saver, Flex and Flex Plus fares, can enjoy up to 46kg of free check-in baggage allowance or two pieces of 23kg each, while those on Special fares will have one free check-in bag of up to 23kg.

Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has announced two new routes, Tirana in Albania and Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina, taking its total destinations to 31. The flights to each destination will commence on September 11, and October 3, respectively. The flight to Tirana will operate twice a week on Tuesday and Saturday, while flights to Sarajevo will operate twice a week on Wednesday and Sunday. Airfares start as low as Dh179. “We continue to add a diverse and eclectic mix of destinations to our network to ensure that there is an appealing travel option for all. Tirana and Sarajevo are fascinating destinations, rich in culture and both set amid impressive mountainous backdrops,” said Kees Van Schaick, managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) has welcomed two new weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. The inaugural flight, operated by Iraqi Airways using Boeing 737-800 aircraft, landed at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) on Saturday, August 7 at 17:00 Local Time (LT). Iraqi Airways will start by operating one flight per week and will then increase its number flights to two per week. Flights will be operating on both Saturdays and Tuesdays, upon the recovery of the travel demand.