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British regional airline Flybe ceased trading on Saturday, January 29, and cancelled all its scheduled flights, leaving passengers stranded and making hundreds of workers redundant. A statement on Flybe’s website said the airline had entered administration, a form of protection from creditors. “Flybe has now ceased trading and all flights from and to the UK operated by Flybe have been cancelled and will not be rescheduled,” it said. It advised people due to fly not to travel to airports. https://www.facebook.com/Flybe/posts/pfbid025FuWLKhnMj3VfYMhyaJYfm7xooiWA5EFVxuoYKR1NFWogAfzzhbB5eHWtZjm86sol The airline initially slumped into bankruptcy in March 2020, eliminating 2,400 jobs, as coronavirus restrictions decimated the travel industry. The company was rescued after b...

Tourism and tourism spending during the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday bounced back in China following removal of travel restrictions and zero-Covid policies. According to information from the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 308 million trips were made over the course of the seven days beginning on January 21, an increase of 23% from the holiday season in 2017. That was 88.6% of the total count from 2019, before the pandemic started. In comparison to the previous year, national tourism revenue increased by 30%, reaching 375.8 billion yuan (US$55.4 billion), or 73% of what was recorded in 2019. “Thanks to the rapid transition to herd immunity and the release of pent-up demand, there has been a notable recovery in in-person services consumption during the week-long Lunar New ...

The governments of Kenya and Tanzania called out KLM on Saturday for spreading "unfounded" claims after the airline published on January 27 an advisory warning of travel disruptions due to purported civil unrest in the two countries. On Friday night, KLM on its social media pages and official website listed Kenya and Tanzania as countries experiencing civil unrest and that the airline will suspend its flights to the two countries on Monday. “Due to civil unrest in Tanzania and Kenya from Friday 27 January up to and including Monday 30 January 2023, some of our flights to, from or via Dar -es-Salam (DAR), Kilimanjaro (JRO), Zanzibar (ZNZ), and Nairobi (NRB) may be disrupted. We are doing our very best to help you on your way again,” read the statement posted on Friday night by KLM. ...

Alaska Airlines announced on Wednesday, January 25, the completion of its transition to paper cups for inflight beverages, a move which eliminates more than 55 million plastic cups annually and replaces them with a more planet-friendly alternative. The change to paper cups makes Alaska Airlines the first U.S. airline to eliminate plastic cups. Combined with our Boxed Water™ partnership, these changes are said to eliminate 2.2 million pounds of plastic waste from landfills every year, the equivalent weight of 24 Boeing 737s. "Doing the right thing is one of our core values and nothing is more right and urgent than protecting the beautiful places that we connect our guests to through flight," said Todd Traynor-Corey, managing director of guest products for Alaska Airlines. "This is anoth...

A critical Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system suffered an overnight glitch, grounding flights across the United States. early Wednesday morning, January 11. Due to the major system outage, the FAA could not send out key hazard notices to commercial pilots through the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) System. The NOTAM System provides key real-time updates about potential flight hazards, as well as any airspace restrictions in place. However, this national flight awareness system operates separately from air traffic control platforms. The FAA ordered all departing flights grounded early Wednesday, affecting all passenger and cargo flights. Some medical flights could get clearance, and the outage did not affect military operations. The FAA posted an advisory notice early Wed...

A technical glitch at the air traffic management system of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) since Sunday morning, January 1, caused a massive disruption of holiday plans of more than 65,000 passengers flying in and out of Manila's main airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). A total of 282 flights were either delayed, cancelled or diverted to other regional airports, after a glitch caused Manila's airport traffic management system to go offline for several hours on Sunday. https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/1609412831962714112?s=20&t=UEIjI26i_1XqSASmeRJRsw In a statement, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said the technical glitch has affected the entire country. “The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA...

After the tragic Halloween crowd crush at the trendy Itaewon district in Seoul, South Korea, Thai tourism operators expressed concerns over packed gatherings and encouraged relevant authorities to be ready for any tragedies. According to Suthiphong Phuenphiphop, vice-president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, he is still convinced that tourists' faith in Thailand won't be impacted by the concerns around such an incident. Mr. Suthiphong is confident that the relevant authorities will be able to maintain order and avert potential chaos during the upcoming major events, such as Loy Krathong this month and Songkran festival the following year—two customary celebrations that typically draw a sizable crowd. He said the government, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Marine ...

Russian airline Aeroflot will begin operating flights from Goa to Moscow on November 2. The airline now operates an Airbus A330 on a twice-weekly Moscow-Delhi-Moscow route. According to an airline statement, the Goa to Moscow flights will operate every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, with 268 seats in economy and 28 in business class. The new routes will also provide a 30 ton weekly freight capacity from India to Russia and the CIS nations. "Goa is a popular tourist destination among Russians. We are starting our three-times-a-week flights on the Moscow-Goa-Moscow route. It marks the expansion of our Indian services in response to customer demand," said Korolev Oleg K, head of cargo at Aeroflot. Goa is a key route for Russian carriers as the peak travel period approaches, wit...

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), the innovator in global cruise travel, commemorated the debut of its all-new Norwegian Prima, and the brand's first-ever voyage from Galveston, Texas, with an exclusive concert by GRAMMY Award-winning artist Kelly Clarkson. The ship also served as the special venue for this year's Norwegian's Giving Joy awards ceremony, during which the Cruise Line and Clarkson recognized 100 teachers with a free cruise, and nearly $170,000 for the top three Grand Prize winners and their schools. Norwegian's Giving Joy program recognizes deserving educators for their unwavering commitment to bringing joy to the classroom. To celebrate these incredible individuals, and their often-times undervalued profession, as well as to kick-off Norwegian Prima's first voyage from Tex...