Category: India

Majority of air travellers are concerned about the environment on an airplane than in an airport, an informal survey has revealed. The survey conducted by aerospace technology firm Honeywell, involving more than 700 frequent business and personal air travel passengers, indicated the types of guidelines and health-related equipment passengers may be looking for while flying during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The anonymous online survey showed that a majority of travellers (72%) were more concerned with the environment on an airplane than in an airport (28%). Nearly 60% of respondents cited social distancing as their top priority during travel, while ... Read more

The Karnataka Tourism Society has submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa demanding that hotels, restaurants and some tourism destinations be opened immediately. Society president K Shama Raju told reporters that although the CM was keen to accord permission, a decision will be taken only after consulting the central government. The Society demanded that hotels and restaurants be given permission to serve food in adherence with physical distance norms. Other demands include an exemption on property tax for April 2020, exemption from paying excise licence fee, and waiver of electricity charges. They also urged the government to give ... Read more

Embankments in the Sundarban delta — a UNESCO world heritage site — have been breached by the surge whipped up by cyclone Amphan which has inundated several kilometres of the islands. The sea-level rise in the delta, which is much higher than average global sea-level rise, will contribute to migration from the region. For around 40 lakh people of the Sundarbans, livelihoods like agriculture, fishing and wildlife tourism are the most predominant, apart from being migrant labourers. The Sunderbans is a mangrove area in the delta formed by the confluence of the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers in the Bay ... Read more

Indian domestic air travel may have resumed on Monday after being grounded for two months, but with many states remaining skeptical about opening airports, over 600 flights were cancelled in just one day alone. Flights are yet to resume in large states like West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and operations in airports including Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad are not in full swing yet. Many passengers reached the airports on Monday only to be told by the airline staff that their flights have been cancelled. West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh governments did not relent to the requests by the Civil Aviation ... Read more

As a result of the unprecedented crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, all the seven properties of Sinclairs Hotels at Siliguri, Darjeeling, Dooars, Kalimpong, Burdwan, Port Blair and Ooty are currently closed. The launch of the eighth property in the Sinclairs’ chain – Sinclairs Gangtok -scheduled on April 15 had to be postponed. In response to today’s needs, Sinclairs is introducing a host of changes and new initiatives to keep our guests safe and healthy. Sinclairs will now have special emphasis on hand washing hygiene to sanitizing of guestrooms and common areas so that our guests enjoy hospitality in a ... Read more

The Supreme Court on Monday allowed national carrier Air India to operate international flight service with middle seat booking. The court was hearing a petition filed by the Centre and Air India after Bombay High Court questioned why the airline was not keeping the middle seats vacant in international flights. “Air India shall be allowed to operate non-scheduled foreign flights with middle seats booking for next 10 days,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde said. After 10 days, the Supreme Court said the national carrier will have to follow the Bombay High Court’s order directing it to follow ... Read more

Indian skies opened up for domestic passenger services from today after a hiatus of two months due to coronavirus-induced lockdown across India. Indigo’s Delhi-Pune and Mumbai-Patna flights were among the first to take off. Most of the states in India have given a go ahead for flight services from Monday. The two distinct exceptions are Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. Andhra Pradesh will resume flights from May 26 and West Bengal from May 28. Maharashtra had earlier said that it will allow only few flights each day from Mumbai airport. But on Sunday, the state said it will allow 25 ... Read more

India will try to restart a good number of international flights before August, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said. “I can’t put a date on it (restarting international flights). But if somebody says can it be done by August or September, my response would be why not earlier, depending on the situation.” “I am fully hopeful that before August or September, we will try to start a good percentage of international civil aviation operations, if not complete international operations,” he said. “We must have a more ambitious goal. Why not start them by mid-June or June-end or in ... Read more

‘Contactless’ would be the buzzword at the Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, when operations resume from May 25.  In an effort to protect passengers and staff from the risk of COVID-19 transmission, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) has introduced a parking-to-boarding contactless journey at the airport.  With greater emphasis on minimum touch and minimum exposure between passengers and airport personnel, BIAL aims to minimise all physical contact at the airport. The technology will continue to enable a seamless airport journey, with greater emphasis on health and safety.  “We have introduced innovative contactless procedures to minimise exposure at the airport. These enhancements ... Read more

No meals, no eatables, no magazines, no on-board sales, Aarogya Setu not required for kids below 14, limited baggage, minimal use of lavatory, less contact by security staff and using masks throughout the journey. That’s new age flying for you. India has issued detailed guidelines for airlines, airport, passengers and other stakeholders, for resumption of domestic flights after a gap of two months. The domestic flights will operate again from May 25, as lockdown restrictions continue to get eased. Here are the new norms: Before arriving at airport Familiarise yourself with the new procedures, especially about norms of social distancing, minimum ... Read more

IndiGo will join the Vande Bharat Mission to repatriate Indians stranded overseas. This will be the first instance of a private airline joining an exercise that was a monopoly of Air India till date. In a statement on Thursday, the country’s largest airline said that it has been authorised to operate 97 reparation flights between Kerala and the Middle East. Adhering all the precautionary measures, the flights will be operated between Kerala and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Doha, Kuwait and Muscat. IndiGo has been granted nearly half of the total 180 repatriation flights allotted to private airlines. “We had ... Read more

Maharashtra has set up a task force for revival and growth of the tourism sector in the medium to long term, state tourism and environment minister Aditya Thackeray has said. The state government wants to develop Maharashtra as a tourism positive state, the minister said. “We have to take Maharashtra ahead, pitch it to the world. I am really keen that Maharashtra will be the first to declare and deliver something for the hotel industry,” the minister said while addressing various concerns of the hospitality industry. A collaborative approach from all the stakeholders is required for revival and growth of ... Read more

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has assured hotel representatives that his government will consider granting approval for reopening hotels in the next three days, where they can start dine-in services with limited customers at a time. Many hoteliers met the CM in Bengaluru on Tuesday and threatened to start pushcart service on footpaths if the government does not allow them to restart full-fledged services. The hoteliers said they are ready to take up all measures including sanitising, wearing of masks and other precautions. In Karnataka, there are about 50,000 hotels including darshinis, of which 15,000 are in Bengaluru alone. According to ... Read more

The domestic flight operations in India will resume once the state governments are ready to open airports, civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday. The Centre alone cannot make a decision in this regard, Puri added. “It is not up to Centre alone to decide on resuming domestic flights. In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the state governments where these flights will take off and land should be ready to allow civil aviation operations,” said Puri on social-networking platform Twitter. Commercial flight operations in the country have been suspended since March 25 when the government first imposed a ... Read more

Fortune Hotels, a member of ITC’s hotel group, has announced the launch of a comprehensive safety and hygiene programme for guests and associates. Termed ‘Safe Stays at Fortune Hotels’, the initiative revolves around safety and hygiene protocol, from pre-arrival to check-out. This programme is set on 10 pillars of safety and hygiene that will be diligently implemented across its hotels as they re-open/commence operations. The programme comprises an all-encompassing protocol and best practice adherence around 10 key pillars namely- deep cleaned & sanitized rooms, safe public spaces, social distancing for hospitality, F&B hygiene and safe handling procedures, safe meetings, hygiene ... Read more