About India Outbound Magazine

India Outbound is India’s only B2B travel media platform, that encompasses a print magazine, a website, an online TV channel and dynamic social media platforms, entirely dedicated to the promotion of foreign destinations and products in India. India Outbound is a niche platform not just for tourism destinations and products to promote themselves to the Indian travel industry, but also for decision makers to build/change their strategy in a context where the Indian outbound market is not only growing but changing with new dynamics. These trends, India Outbound analyse and predict them.

Emirates to restart passenger flights from April 6

After nearly two weeks of suspension, Emirates Airlines says it will start select passenger flights from Monday, April 6. The initial flights will commence from Dubai to London Heathrow, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels and Zurich, with 4 flights a week to London Heathrow, and 3 flights a week to the other cities.

Operating from Dubai International airport Terminal 2 until further notice, these flights will only carry outbound passengers from the UAE. Emirates will also carry belly-hold cargo in both directions, supporting trade and communities with the transport of essential goods.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates airline and Group said: “These initial passenger services, although limited to travellers who meet the entry requirements set by the destination countries, will be welcomed by our customers seeking to return home to their countries and families. While we hope to resume full operations as soon as possible, we acknowledge the challenges faced by many cities in dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak. We continuously review the situation and will announce any additional services as they become available.”

Emirates will operate its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on these routes, offering seats in Business and Economy class. Emirates’ Lounge and Chauffeur Drive services will be temporarily unavailable during this period.

All Emirates aircraft will go through enhanced cleaning and disinfection processes in Dubai, after each journey.

British Airways reaches agreement to furlough staff

British Airways has reached an agreement with the UK trade union Unite to furlough its staff without anyone being made redundant. The flagship U.K. airline’s agreement reportedly entails suspending 80 pc of its cabin crew, engineers, ground staff and head office employees. It will furlough staff on 80 pc of pay without any cap on earnings, according to news agency, in what would be a modified version of the British government’s job retention scheme.

The news comes amid the worsening coronavirus crisis, which has halted the majority of passenger travel globally and delivered a crippling blow to the airline industry. Many major airlines have slashed up to 90 pc of their operations and some have grounded their entire fleets.

Airline trade groups have warned that without rescue funds, huge numbers of staff are at risk of losing their jobs. The global air transport sector supported some 65 million jobs last year, according to the Air Transport Action Group. The aviation sector is one of the worst-hit as economic activity plunges and countries impose lockdowns and stay-at-home orders in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.

Thailand imposes night-time curfew from April 3

Stepping up its measures to contain the spread of COVID-19, Thailand has imposed a nationwide night-time curfew, a statement issued by Tourism Authority of Thailand stated. In a televised address to the nation, Thai Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, has announced the 22:00–04:00 hrs curfew, effective from April 03, 2020, until further notice, with the exception for medical and banking personnel, transportation of medical supplies and goods, people who work night shifts, transportation of people to the designated quarantine areas, and people who travel to and from the airport – all of whom must provide proof of their journey.

Over the past week, provincial governors across the nation have issued orders and restrictions in accordance with the situation in each province, including entry and exit ban, closure of an extended list of venues and services, restrictions on opening hours of shops and services, and travel and activity restrictions in line with the directives under the state of emergency.

PATA launches crisis resource centre and tourism recovery monitor

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the launch of PATA crisis resource centre and tourism recovery monitor, a unified platform that will provide reliable and up-to-date policy statements, authoritative information, and tourism indicators from around the globe. The aim is to provide a global centralised repository of reliable information for users based on their needs.

It will help members and industry stakeholders access solutions by governments, while also assisting governments in understanding the challenges through the travel impact survey. The tourism recovery monitor is an integrated resource for strategic tourism planners and decision makers to keep fully abreast of the fast changing environment. Both initiatives are housed under one microsite.

Sarah Mathews, former chairperson of PATA said, “We are launching with two key areas of focus; one is to house all the efforts across the globe by governments who have and are providing aid, relief, and support for their industry stakeholders within the resource center. Secondly, we are asking for the industry to complete a business impact survey in order to use those results to request for more government support for our industry. Whilst the current focus is on COVID-19 as a public health issue, the goal is to establish a long term resource centre for the industry to utilise when we face any future crisis. The travel and tourism industry is incredibly resilient, and travel will continue to inspire millions of people across the world.”

India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group