Australia finally reopens international borders

Australia eased its international border restrictions on Monday for the first time during the pandemic, allowing some of its vaccinated public to travel freely and many families to reunite, sparking emotional embraces at Sydney’s airport.
After 18 months of some of the world’s strictest coronavirus border policies that banned citizens from either returning to the country or leaving it, unless granted an exemption, millions of Australians in Victoria, New South Wales and Canberra are now free to travel.

A flight by flag carrier Qantas Airways from Los Angeles touched down in Sydney at 6 a.m. local time, Australia’s biggest airline said, with COVID-19 vaccinated travellers allowed to walk off the plane without quarantining.

International travellers also arrived in Sydney via Singapore Airlines early on Monday.

While the initial flights are limited to Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, it sets in motion a plan to reopen the country to international tourists and workers, both much needed to reinvigorate a fatigued nation.

Thailand is also welcoming vaccinated tourists, without quarantine, from Monday, as is Israel, in a boost to global air travel after a trying 18-month period.

Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on Monday that the travel changes would immediately aid the economy.

“It’s a day for celebration – the fact that Australians can move more freely in and out of our country without home quarantine, if they’re double-vaccinated,” Frydenberg said.

Television and social media footage showed tearful family reunions, with strict travel rules previously prohibiting many people from attending significant events, including weddings and funerals.

The relaxation of travel rules is tied to rising vaccination rates with more than 80% of people aged 16 and older in Australia’s two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, fully vaccinated.

Australians and permanent residents living abroad may now return, with foreign ministry data showing about 47,000 people are hoping to do so.

Most tourists – even vaccinated ones – have to wait to come to Australia, although vaccinated tourists from New Zealand will be allowed in from Monday. Citizens of Singapore will be able to travel to Australia, without quarantine, from Nov. 21.

Unvaccinated travellers will still face quarantine restrictions and all travellers need proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to boarding.

The change in travel rules, however, is not uniform across Australia, as the country’s states and territories have differing vaccination rates and health policies.

Western Australia, which takes in one of the world’s biggest iron ore precincts, remains largely cut off from the rest of the country – and the world – as the state tries to protect its virus-free status.

Australia previously let only a limited number of citizens and permanent residents return from abroad, with a mandatory 14-day quarantine period in a hotel at their own expense.

But the change has come as it switched a COVID-zero pandemic management strategy towards living with the virus through extensive vaccinations.

While the Delta outbreak kept Sydney and Melbourne in lockdowns for months until recently, Australia’s COVID-19 cases remain far lower than many comparable countries, with just over 170,500 infections and 1,735 deaths. – Reuters

Source - BangkokJack

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#Tunisia opens its beaches for tourists after lockdown

  

Tourists are back on Tunisia’s beaches after charter flights resumed to the North African country following a break of more than three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Some 155 mask-clad holiday makers from France, Germany and Luxembourg were greeted late last week on the resort island of Djerba with temperature checks – but also by hostesses offering them bouquets of jasmine.

“We can’t save the whole season, but we will do everything we can to save part of it,” said Tourism Minister Mohamed Ali Toumi, who was at the airport to welcome the Luxair flight.

Tunisia, a country of some 11.5 million people, has officially registered 1,374 novel coronavirus infections and 50 deaths.

It reopened its borders on June 27, and travellers from countries it classifies as “green”, including France, Germany and Luxembourg, are not subject to any coronavirus restrictions.

“You have managed the health crisis better than us,” said Patrick, a Frenchman in his sixties who arrived with his son for 10 days in the Tunisian sun.

Tourism accounts for between eight and 14 per cent of Tunisia’s GDP, and employs around half a million people.

The novel coronavirus crisis has hit the sector hard.

Tourism revenues declined by around 50 per cent between January 1 and July 10, compared to the same period last year, according to official figures.

Authorities are counting on health regulations to reassure tourists and the sector, and have halved hotel capacity in order to comply with anti-coronavirus measures.

“We are determined to strictly apply the health protocol,” the tourism minister said.

Authorities are hoping for a revival of the sector in early 2021.

Elsewhere in North Africa, Morocco announced Sunday a further easing of its own novel coronavirus restrictions, allowing tourist establishments to operate at full capacity but keeping borders closed.

A “third phase” of easing was set to come into effect on Monday, authorities said in a statement, as part of “the continued implementation of measures necessary for a gradual return to normal life and restarting the economy”.

Tourist businesses are now allowed to “use 100 per cent of their capacity, without exceeding 50 per cent in common areas” such as restaurants, pools and indoor sports facilities.

But the kingdom will keep its borders closed “until further notice”, except for returning Moroccans and residents.

Since June, Morocco has allowed cafes, restaurants and shops to reopen and for domestic tourism to restart.

A state of health emergency remains in place in Morocco until August 10.

Cultural centres, libraries, museums and archaeological sites are also allowed to reopen “without exceeding 50 per cent capacity”, the statement said, and gatherings and activities with fewer than 20 people are also allowed.

Wedding parties and funeral gatherings remain prohibited, and cinemas and public pools will stay closed, a statement said.

The country of 34 million has officially registered over 17,000 novel coronavirus cases and around 270 deaths since March.

Authorities placed parts of the northern city of Tangiers back into lockdown last week after new clusters of infection appeared, and locked down the coastal town of Safi earlier in the month after an outbreak at a factory.

Source - Phnom Penh Post

Finnair to resume long-haul flights to Asia in July

Finland's national airline will restart routes between Europe and Asia in July once countries begin to lift coronavirus restrictions on travel, the company announced on Monday.

Beijing and Shanghai will be the first long-haul destinations to reopen, alongside Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok and three Japanese routes, Finnair said in a statement.

Flights to Delhi and New York will follow in August.

The move makes Finnair one of the first European carriers to restart intercontinental flights, after the Lufthansa Group announced on Friday it would resume 19 long-haul routes by early June.

"We expect aviation to recover gradually, starting in July," Finnair chief commercial officer Ole Orver said in a statement, adding that the company intends to bring its operations back to one-third of normal capacity.

Finnair cut 90 percent of its flights on April 1 and issued a profit warning as coronavirus restrictions brought international passenger travel almost to a standstill. 

Facemasks will be mandatory on all Finnair flights "until at least the end of August," Finnair spokeswoman Paivyt Tallqvist told AFP. 

"We have also taken a number of steps to avoid unnecessary movement on board," Tallqvist said, including having passengers disembark in smaller groups, and limiting capacity of shuttle bus transport between aircraft and the terminal to 50 percent.

Flights along the so-called "shorter northern route" between Helsinki and Asia, bypassing the Middle East, have been a key part of the Finnish carrier's growth strategy in recent years, with passenger numbers on its Asian routes doubling between 2010 and 2018.

On Monday, Finnair also announced it would restart 26 European routes in July, including to Brussels, Moscow, Prague and Paris.

Destinations including Rome, Madrid and Warsaw would be added in August, the firm said. 

Finnair said it would open further routes on a monthly basis depending on demand and how travel restrictions change over the summer.

Source - TheJakartaPost

EU looks to save summer holiday

 The EU will present recommendations on Wednesday to save the summer season in Europe’s reeling tourism sector, which has been pounded by the coronavirus crisis.

The European Commission will urge EU countries to gradually reopen shuttered internal borders and to above all treat each member state on the same criteria.

According to a draft seen by AFP, the Commission insists that reopening of everyday life after the pandemic must be done in a "concerted" and "non-discriminatory" manner and must remain "as harmonious as possible".

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The points are only recommendations on the part of the EU's executive as it is up to national governments to decide whether to lift the restrictions put in place to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Brussels recommends that when countries are in a comparable epidemiological situation and have adopted the same precautionary measures, they should be treated in the same way.

If, for example, Austria opens its borders with Germany, it must also open its borders with the Czech Republic if that country is in a comparable situation to Germany.

Similarly, when a country opens its borders with another country, it must do so for all the residents of that country, whether or not they are nationals of that country. 

This issue of restoring freedom of movement within the passport-free Schengen area is crucial for European tourism, a sector which accounts for 10 percent of the EU's GDP and 12 percent of employment.

In some southern European countries, such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, this impact is even greater and if holidaymakers were to stay home, their already bad economic situation could worsen further.

In its recommendations, the commission also addresses the thorny issue of whether or not to reimburse cancelled trips and holidays.

Under EU rules, the European consumer is entitled to a cash refund, but many operators and airlines prefer to offer a credit instead.

"Carriers and tour operators should follow a common approach, offering passengers and travellers an attractive choice between a cash refund, in line with their rights under EU law, or the acceptance of a voucher," the document said.

Late last month, 12 European countries asked the European Commission to suspend the obligation for airlines to reimburse passengers whose journeys have been cancelled because of the coronavirus. 

Source - TheJakartaPost

'Europe needs a break': EU plots to restart travel and tourism despite COVID-19

EU states should guarantee vouchers for travel cancelled during the coronavirus pandemic and start lifting internal border restrictions in a bid to salvage some of the summer tourism season, the bloc's executive will say next week.

Tourism, that normally contributes almost a tenth of the European Union's economic output, is among the sectors hardest hit by the global outbreak that has grounded nearly all travel.

Germany and other member states have urged a suspension of EU rules that force cash-drained airlines and the hospitality industry to offer full refunds for cancelled flights and trips instead of vouchers for future travel.

In response, the European Commission will tell member states to guarantee vouchers to make them more attractive to customers, according to a strategy document seen by Reuters ahead of official publication due on Wednesday.

"To provide incentives for passengers and travelers to accept vouchers instead of reimbursement, vouchers should be protected against insolvency of the issuer and remain refundable by the end of their validity if not redeemed," the draft document said.

"Insolvency protection needs to be assured at the national level and secured vouchers need to be accessible to all passengers and travelers," it added.

The EU executive will also tell the bloc's 27 member countries to gradually lift internal border restrictions and restart some travel to help the ailing tourism sector.

'Grave trouble'

Tourism normally brings some 150 billion euros every season form June through August with some 360 million international arrivals, according to the Commission.

But Europe's external borders are now bound to be shut for any non-essential travel until at least mid-June, an emergency measure to limit the spread of the virus.

"Our tourism industry is in grave trouble," the Commission is due to say, warning that 6.4 million jobs could be lost in the sector that has reported falls in revenue ranging from 50 percent for hotels and restaurants to 90 percent for cruises and airlines.

The pandemic set the EU on a path towards its worst-ever economic downturn and bitterly tested unity between member states fighting over medical equipment, export bans on drugs, chaotic border curbs and money to salvage their single market.

Titled "Europe needs a break" the Commission's tourism strategy will call for targeted restrictions to replace a general ban on travel and seek a gradual lifting of internal border checks where the health situation has improved.

With Europeans most likely to stay at home or travel shorter distances this summer, peripheral EU regions and islands are likely to be shunned and will take longer to bounce back.

"Until a vaccine or treatment is available, the needs and benefits of travel and tourism needs to be weighed against the risks of again facilitating the spread of the virus... possibly leading to a reintroduction of confinement measures," the draft plan said. 

Source - TheJakartaPost

Lufthansa to resume some European services in June

German airline giant Lufthansa said Friday it will fly twice as many aircraft in June as in recent weeks and return to some European destinations, but the flight plan remains a shadow of pre-coronavirus operations.

Spots beloved of holidaymakers like Spanish island Mallorca, Crete and German North Sea retreat Sylt will return to the timetable, with 160 aircraft aloft bearing Lufthansa's crane or the logos of subsidiaries Swiss and Eurowings.
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More details of the 106 planned destinations will be published next week, Lufthansa said.

Source - TheJakartPost