August 22, 2021| 1 0

KABUL RESCUE FLIGHTS BY 13 COUNTRIES

Since the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan to the Taliban forces on 15th August, the world has joined together to rescue their nationals and Afghans. We have compiled a list of ten countries that are flying day and night, in very difficult conditions, to rescue as many people as possible. Please note the below list of countries is not complete or exhaustive. There are some countries we did not cover in this post. (The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark etc) Canada Canada is using two CC-177 Globemaster’s to rescue Canadian nationals and Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban takeover. The first flight left Kabul airport late Thursday evening, carrying 175 Afghans and 13 foreign nationals. “The Globemaster’s are currently being reconfigured to carry the maximum number of people as safely as possible, and Canadian Armed Forces personnel are empowered to make decisions on the ground in the interest of saving human lives.” Department of National Defence spokesperson Jessica Lamirande. Germany On 18th August the first of three Afghanistan evacuee flights, on behalf of the German government, arrived at Frankfurt with 130 people. The Airbus A340-300 from Lufthansa picked up passengers who had been taken by the German air force from the Afghan capital of Kabul to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. Further special flights from Tashkent, Doha and other neighbouring nations are due to be used for evacuation purposes in the next few days. Also, German Joint Forces are performing rescue flights using the A400; as of yesterday 11 flights had been performed, with 1640 people on board in total. Pakistan Pakistan International Airlines was the only commercial airline continuing to fly to Kabul, after all the others had pulled out by 16th August. However after multiple flights and evacuating about 2000 people from Kabul, including journalists, diplomats and staff of the IMF/World Bank, PIA decided to suspend operations, due to unsafe tarmac and taxiways, debris and lack of relevant airport staff and facilities for flight operations. On Friday 20th, PIA operated two flights using an A320 and a Boeing 777. The CEO of PIA, Arshad Malik, personally flew to Kabul to assess the situation. USA The US is […]

April 27, 2021| 568 0

Hong Kong Reportedly Seeking Australia & New Zealand Travel Bubble

The momentum surrounding travel bubbles continues to build. Buoyed by finally sealing a deal with Singapore, Hong Kong is reportedly looking south for its next travel bubbles. On the Hong Kong Government’s wish list are travel bubbles with Australia and New Zealand. Getting travel bubbles up and running remains a big ask According to a report in Exec …

March 2, 2021| 437 0

Australia Extends Its International Travel Ban Until June

The Australian government has confirmed today that it is extending its ban on international travel by a further three months. The biosecurity emergency period extension will remain in place until June 17 th , stopping all international travel barring some exceptions. This will take Australia to a full 15 months of hard lockdown measures. 15 months of …

February 20, 2021| 708 0

Gravel Kits: How Boeing 737s Could Land On Dirt Runways

Once upon a time, Boeing offered an optional ‘unpaved strip kit’ for its early 737 variants. Available for the 737-100 and -200 from February 1969, the kit comprised a number of modifications that would allow aircraft to safely fly in and out of airports that only had unpaved runways. No longer available for newer jets, let’s take a look at this re …

February 15, 2021| 565 0

Air New Zealand Adjusts Services As Auckland Goes On Lockdown

New Zealand’s biggest city, Auckland, is in the middle of a three-day lockdown after three locally acquired cases of COVID-19 popped up over the weekend. And that’s had the local airline, Air New Zealand, scrambling to adjust its services and stay in the air. “While the country is at elevated Alert Levels, Air New Zealand will be taking extra preca …

February 11, 2021| 481 0

Cathay Pacific Slashes Australia Schedule Only Keeping Sydney

Hong-Kong’s Cathay Pacific has slashed its flights to cities in Australia, retaining only Sydney as its sole destination. This comes amid increasingly tight restrictions on travel, which now mean crew would have to quarantine for 14 days on return to Hong Kong. Several other international routes have also been cut. Cathay drops Australia The new rule …

February 9, 2021| 466 0

Will Vaccines Mean No Quarantine When Entering Australia?

With the Australian Government set to roll out its COVID-19 vaccination program, there’s hope inbound and outbound travel restrictions will slowly unwind. There’s a widespread expectation that proof of negative COVID-19 status will be needed to travel. That rule won’t just be mandated at the government level but also the airline level under a no-ja …

February 8, 2021| 549 0

Qantas Looks At South Africa Again For Post-Crisis Route

Qantas is taking another look at South Africa and eyeing a potential second route into the country, talking up possible flights between Perth and Johannesburg. It isn’t a new plan, having had several public airings over the last few years but failing to get off the ground. However, with Qantas scouting new network opportunities once international f …

February 4, 2021| 493 0

EU Concerned About Austria’s Minimum Air Fare Policy

The European Commission has expressed concerns over the Austrian government’s policy of a €40 minimum price for airline tickets. The EU executive is expecting more detail on the new measures that potentially violate the bloc’s air service regulation and could engage in dialogue with the Austrian authorities. Airlines are free to set fares, EU policy …

February 3, 2021| 569 0

4 Chinese Travelers Avoid Baggage Fees But End Up With Ulcers

Most of us have been there. Your baggage is a bit overweight, and the dragon at check-in won’t cut you any slack. Suddenly you’re wearing two sweaters, a parka, and have a pair of shoes in your pocket while moving through security. A group of passengers in Kunming (China) recently had the same issue, only they ate their way to a solution – with som …

February 1, 2021| 599 0

When Will India Reopen For All Commercial International Flights?

Since March, India has banned all scheduled passenger international flights, cutting off international travel. While repatriation flights and travel agreements became common by the summer, international traffic remains under 50% of pre-COVID levels. So when will India reopen to all commercial flights? Banned India first banned all scheduled internati …

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