The International Air Transport Association (IATA) welcomed new guidance from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) removing its recommendation that masks should be required in-flight. EASA’s updated Aviation Health Safety Protocol, published 11 May, calls for the mandatory mask rule to be relaxed where rules have been relaxed for other transport modes. This important shift reflects the high levels of vaccination, natural immunity levels, and the removal of domestic restrictions in many European nations. The updated guidance also acknowledges the need to move from an emergency situation to a more sustainable mode of managing COVID-19. "From next week, face masks will no longer need to be mandatory in air travel in all cases, broadly aligning with the changing requirements o...
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it had dropped its "Do Not Travel" COVID-19 recommendations for about 90 international destinations. FILE PHOTO: Air travellers wearing protective face masks, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, walk at JetBlue Terminal 5 at JFK International airport in New York, U.S., November 16, 2021. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton Last week, the CDC said it was revising its travel recommendations and said it would its reserve Level 4 travel health notices "for special circumstances, such as rapidly escalating case trajectory or extremely high case counts." The countries and others regions dropped to "Level 3: High," which still discourages travel by unvaccinated Americans, include the United Kingdom, France, Israel, Tur...
Read MoreGroup of 20 major economies (G20) chair Indonesia has started talks with members on standardising health protocols for travel, its health minister said on Monday, stressing the importance of harmonising rules and technology as global travel resumes. "Every person on this earth who travels... can do so more efficiently," Budi Gunadi Sadikin told a news conference at a G20 health meeting in Yogyakarta, where standardising requirements is being discussed. An aide to Indonesia's health minister, Setiaji, said countries were getting ready to roll out a global website to scan and verify travellers' vaccination status. All G20 members support the rollout, but China will not participate yet "due to technical reasons," he said without giving further details. Indonesia's proposal is...
Read MoreIndonesia has removed its quarantine requirement for all arrivals from overseas, its tourism minister said on Monday, responding to improvements in its containment of the coronavirus The decision, effective immediately, follows the successful implementation of a quarantine waiver this month for visitors vaccinated against COVID-19 on the islands of Bali, Batam, and Bintan, minister Sandiaga Uno told a news conference. FILE PHOTO: An officer stands at Ngurah Rai International Airport as Indonesia's resort island of Bali reopens for international flights following border closures brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in Badung, Bali, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Fikri Yusuf/via REUTERS "With the handling of the pandemic more controlled ...today we announce that the...
Read MoreThe World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have called for the lifting of travel bans as they do not provide added value and continue to contribute to economic and social stress. The two UN agencies agreed to collaborate on a global trust architecture for recovery of the travel sector. Over recent days, a growing number of countries around the world have started easing their rules for international arrivals, including the easing of travel bans. These decisions are in line with WHO’s latest recommendations for safe international mobility, which highlight the ineffectiveness of blanket restrictions in controlling virus transmissions. Such a trend is also consistent with UNWTO’s repeated warnings of the great social, economic and development harm of res...
Read MoreTravel and tourism industry has welcomed the adoption of an EU Council recommendation for external travellers coming into the EU and called for further action to help re-start air connectivity. New recommendations effectively ease the travel requirements for travellers coming to EU from rest of the world. While the recommendation is an undoubted step forward, the industry has called for EU States to move further, towards an unconditional acceptance of all WHO-approved vaccines, and also replacing PCR with rapid antigen testing options. Julia Simpson, President and CEO of WTTC, said: “WTTC welcomes the sensible decision by the EU to drop travel restrictions before Easter. “The patchwork of rules and regulations did nothing to prevent the spread of COVID but did cause immense d...
Read More‘At Risk’ list of countries scrapped in the new health ministry guidelines Ministry of Health, Government of India on Thursday scrapped the mandatory seven-day home quarantine for international travellers coming to India. The new guidelines, which come into effect from February 14, require passengers to self-monitor their health for 14 days after arrival and isolate in case they develop symptoms of Covid-19. All passengers will undergo thermal screening on arrival and be isolated at a medical facility if found symptomatic. If they test positive, their contacts will be identified as per protocol. Moreover, there will be random testing of 2% of international travellers from all countries on arrival. Travellers can give samples and are allowed to leave the airport. The need for ...
Read MoreSwiss ski lifts are open for foreign visitors as long as they respect the rules that the government has introduced to try and break the momentum of the coronavirus pandemic, Health Minister Alain Berset said on Friday. "The government's goal is to keep as much as possible functioning, of course under different conditions as if there were no pandemic," Berset told a news conference when asked about a French ban on British tourists seeking winter fun. FILE PHOTO: Skiers ride a chairlift at Les Portes du Soleil ski resort during the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Les Crosets, Switzerland. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse He was speaking after Switzerland said it will expand from Monday the requirement for people to show proof of vaccination or recovery from the cor...
Read MoreNorth-eastern states of Meghalaya and Mizoram have issued new guidelines for national and international travellers coming to these states. The new guidelines were issued after the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was detected in some states, the officials said on Tuesday. Meghalaya government has issued new guidelines making it mandatory for people entering the state to register with the government website and download the Arogya Setu App and the Behavioural Change Management App, an official said. "It is mandatory for all persons entering Meghalaya to register themselves prior to their travel at http://meghalayaonline.gov.in/covid/testing.htm and to download the Arogya Setu App and the Behavioural Change Management App of Meghalaya from Google play store or App store. However, touri...
Read MoreTravel and tourism industry has once again expressed its displeasure on the way various countries are managing the travel guidelines in response to Omicron variant and increase in COVID infections. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) of the United Nations has called out against the introduction of blanket restrictions on travel, as witnessed in recent days. This call echoes the concerns raised by UNWTO Members during the 24th UNWTO General Assembly (30 November–3 December). Countries from all global regions expressed their solidarity with Southern African states, calling for the immediate lifting of travel bans imposed on specific countries and for freedom of international travel to be upheld. FILE PHOTO: A sandwich is seen in a closed cafe as the Austrian government imposed a fo...
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