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Edwardian Hotels in London and Manchester have implemented new operating procedures to ensure traveller safety during their stay. The protocols are approved by SGS, a world-leading testing and certification body.

From today, 10 August, the city of Paris has made the wearing of face masks mandatory for anyone over the age of 11 in busy outdoor areas to curb a rise in COVID-19 infections. Among the areas included are the banks of the River Seine, and a number of open-air markets.

The U.S. airline has announced that it has extended 'Global Services' status for its current members through to 31 January 2022. United had previously also extended 'MileagePlus' status for members at the Premier 1K level and below through to the same date.

The country's government has announced that it will not raise a limit on public gatherings which was originally planned for this month, following a spike in COVID-19 infections. As part of the Denmark’s gradual reopening following a lockdown to curb the spread of the virus, the government had previously planned to raise the limit on public gatherings to 200 people on 8 August, up from the current limit of 100 people.

The government of Austria have announced that from 10 August it will advise the country's citizens against travel to Spain, excluding the Canary and Balearic Islands. Anyone arriving in or returning to Austria from Spain will now be required to present a negative test result for COVID-19.

The UK government has announced that from 04.00 (local time) on 8 August, both arrivals and returning passengers from Andorra, Belgium and the Bahamas will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days due to the countries being removed from the UK's travel corridor exemption list. In addition, the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has also advised British nationals against all but essential travel to these destinations, based on the risk currently presented due to their levels of COVID-19.

The city of Amsterdam yesterday, 5 August, began mandating the use of face masks in crowded areas such as its 'Red Light' district, in a localised drive against COVID-19 which stands in contrast to the country's national policy. City workers will continue to hand out masks to both tourists and residents in busier areas, and will inform them that failure to wear them could result in a fine of 95 Euros (USD112).

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 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 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 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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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 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.

Germany's health minister has said that mandatory testing of passengers returning to the country from nations with a high risk of COVID-19 infection will take effect 'later this week'; final preparations are reportedly in progress in order to coordinate the testing solution across both airports and international train stations across all states of Germany.