Coronavirus News
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Hurtigruten suspends operations from pole to pole
The cruise company will pause global expedition cruise operations through April 28th and their Norwegian coastal cruises through April 19th.
Africa’s Travel Indaba postponed in South Africa
Africa’s Travel Indaba has been postponed indefinitely in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak spreading around the world. South Africa tourism minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane announced the decision earlier.
Spain to close all hospitality accommodation from Tuesday
Officials in Spain have ordered the closure of all hotels, campsites and short-stay accommodation from next Tuesday. There have been 14,769 coronavirus cases recorded in the country, with 638 deaths to date.
Air New Zealand closes London base months early
There are currently 130 flight attendants at the base, but the decision has been taken to close early due to the impact of Covid-19 and travel restrictions imposed by governments around the world.
Qantas to stand down majority of staff as travel virtually ceases
Qantas and Jetstar have confirmed the majority of their 30,000 employees will be asked to stand down until at least the end of May as global travel comes to a virtual standstill during the coronavirus outbreak.
Air Transat to gradually suspend flights
Air Transat has announced a gradual suspension of its flights to Europe until April 30th. This decision follows an announcement from the government of Canada that the country is closing its borders to foreign nationals.
Ryanair expects to halt all flights from next week
In a statement today, the low-cost carrier said all departures would be cancelled except for a very small number of flights to maintain essential connectivity, mostly between the UK and Ireland.
Air Malta to ground all flights until further notice
Malta will ban all commercial aviation from Friday following a decision by the Maltese health authorities. The ban does not apply to ferry, cargo and humanitarian and repatriation or special flights.
Gatwick Airport cuts staff, closes gates and suspends investment
Gatwick Airport has unveiled a series of steps designed to safeguard the “financial resilience” of the business in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The plans will significantly reduce costs.
Chile latest country to enter complete lockdown
President Sebastián Piñera announced Chile has entered stage four of its Covid-19 contingency plan. As a result, as of today, all of Chile’s land, sea and air borders will close, and entry of foreigners will be denied until further notice.
easyJet cuts flights, looks ahead to winter recovery
easyJet has undertaken further significant cancellations in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. Capacity cuts will continue on a rolling basis for the foreseeable future and could result in the grounding of the majority of the easyJet fleet, the low-cost carrier said.
European Union bans travellers from outside bloc
The European Union is banning travellers from outside the bloc for 30 days in a battle to contain the spread of coronavirus. In an unprecedented move, the external borders of 26 EU states will be closed.