Air Astana Resumes Flights To International Destinations

Air Astana (KC) will resume international services between June 20 and July 1, 2020, from Almaty and Nur-Sultan to destinations in Georgia, South Korea, and Turkey.

*Air Astana continues repatriation flights between Almaty and Seoul every Monday throughout June.
Additionally, on 3 July, the airline will launch an entirely new service from Almaty to Batumi on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.

The airline will operate Airbus A320/A321 and Embraer E190-E2 mainly for its international flights.

On 1 May, KC resumed flights between Almaty and the capital Nur-Sultan and expanded the domestic network by mid-May to include regional centers across Kazakhstan.

According to aviator.aero, the airline recommends that passengers traveling abroad independently check the health requirements in their country of destination, but does specify specific arrival requirements for Georgia, South Korea, and Turkey.

Upon arrival in Kazakhstan, passengers coming from Georgia and South Korea will undergo thermal checks and will need to complete a health questionnaire.

Passengers arriving from Turkey will also be subject to thermal checks, complete a health questionnaire, and undergo a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of arrival, if not immediately present.

Passengers excluded from the health requirements include members of state delegations from Kazakhstan, members of official delegations of foreign states, and international organizations arriving in Kazakhstan at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Also excluded from the measures are members of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and missions of international organizations accredited to Kazakhstan, members of their families, and airline crews.

Nursultan-based Air Astana is Kazakhstan’s national airline and operates domestic and international flights. Its main operational hubs are Nursultan International Airport (NQZ) and Almaty International Airport (ALA).

The last time we heard from the flag carrier was back in September 2019, when it had taken delivery of its first of seven A321LR on order.

The jetliner, on lease from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) was the seventh A320neo family aircraft received by the airline, which includes three A320 and three A321.

GERMANY: Eurowings To Fire 300 Staff At Head-Office

Eurowings, the low-cost airline owned by Lufthansa , said it would cut a third of the jobs at its headquarters as part of wider efforts to return the German airline group to profitability after a major state bailout.

We have around 1,000 staff at head office and of those we will reduce 300, Eurowings Chief Executive Jens Bischof told a briefing in Duesseldorf.

Germany threw Lufthansa a 9 billion euro ($9.8 billion) lifeline on Monday, agreeing a bailout which gives Berlin a veto in the event of a hostile bid for the airline.

Bischof, in remarks did not give figures for job reductions in other operational areas at Eurowings, which employs a total of around 4,000 staff.

He said the outcome would depend on negotiations with staff representatives and how work is allocated in future between Lufthansa and Eurowings. It would likely take until 2023 before activity returns to last year's levels.

GERMAN airline Eurowings is reactivating its base in Spain holiday island Mallorca in another good sign for the recovery of the Balearic Island tourism sector.

The airline, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, will be taking off from Mallorca capital Palma next Saturday June 27 with a flight to German city Hannover following a break of some three months due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The company will be operating more than 50 flights a week from Palma, going up to nearly 170 by the end of July, with connections to 16 airports in Germany and Austria.

To begin with Eurowings will operate with two A-320 aircraft stationed at Palma’s Son San Joan airport, going up to three over the summer

We are very pleased that Eurowings Europe is able to take off again, commented Eurowings Europe Managing Director Robert Jahn.

He also thanked company employees, who he said had had to endure a lot of uncertainty and show staying power in the past weeks.

Eurowings will take off again at the end of June with its international flight operation Eurowings Europe. The first flight after a break of around three months will take place on 27 June at 07:45 from Palma to Hanover.

With the reopening of the Mallorca base, Eurowings is underlining its position as Germany’s largest holiday airline. With the additional aircraft stationed on the Balearic island, Eurowings is operating a flight schedule that supplements numerous Mallorca connections at major Eurowings locations such as Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne/Bonn with additional destinations in Germany and Austria.

Eurowings primarily operates flights from Mallorca to Berlin, Bremen, Dresden, Hanover, Leipzig, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Munich, Munster-Osnabruck, Nuremberg and Saarbrucken. In Austria, Eurowings connects Salzburg and Innsbruck with Mallorca.

With the beginning of the summer holidays in some German federal states, Eurowings will again offer more than 50 Mallorca flights per week. During the peak holiday season from the end of July, the number of flights will then increase to 168 weekly Mallorca flights.

A total of 16 airports in Germany and Austria will then be connected to Mallorca with Eurowings again. The airline had opened its first location in non-German-speaking countries in 2017 on Mallorca.

Eurowings thus became the leading carrier for flights to Mallorca to Germany and Austria.

With the end of the worldwide travel warning and the lifting of travel restrictions for Spain, customer interest in sunny destinations is growing by leaps and bounds. Therefore the airline has decided to reactivate its crews based in Palma.

Eurowings Europe will initially start operations with two Airbus A320s and increase to three aircraft over the summer. The airline also operates additional international stations for Eurowings in Salzburg (Austria) and Pristina (Kosovo).

We are very pleased that Eurowings Europe is able to take off again, said Robert Jahn, Managing Director of Eurowings Europe. I would like to thank our guests for their patience and understanding during this difficult phase.

And I would especially like to thank our Eurowings Europe team, who had to endure a lot of uncertainty and show staying power in the past weeks.

We are all the more pleased that we can now start again and be there for our holiday guests.

Mallorca is booming with Eurowings, which uses A330 wide-body to Palma Airport.

Eurowings is offering more than 160 additional flights by Airbus A330 from Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf over the next three months.

Eurowings is strengthening its position as Germany’s largest holiday airline. The Lufthansa subsidiary is expanding its route portfolio in the direction of South-East Europe and will be flying to Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast on a large scale for the first time in summer 2020.

The two new up-and-coming holiday destinations being offered are Varna and Burgas.

Flights will be available from six German airports from 6 July. In addition to the major Eurowings stations in Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart, the airports of Munich, Hanover and Leipzig will also be directly connected to the Bulgarian coast from July.

The airline’s programme will then include more than 20 weekly flights to Burgas and Varna. Among the European sunshine destinations, Bulgaria is becoming the new holiday favourite for inexpensive summer holidays, both for families and for the younger public.

JORDAN: Domestic Flights Resume After Lockdown

Aqaba’s King Hussein International Airport resumed operations for domestic flights on Thursday with the arrival of two flights from Amman following the pandemic-induced grounding of planes.

Aqaba Airports Company (AAC) General Manager Nasser Al Majali announced the arrival and departure of domestic flights operated by local airlines, including Royal Jordanian, Jordan Aviation and Fly Jordan, stressing that the airport will “stringently adhere” to health measures.

In pictures and videos that circulated on social media, passengers are seen wearing gloves and face masks during the arrivals.

ASEZA Commissioner for Tourism and Economic Development Shurahbeel Madi told Al Mamlaka TV that the first flight carried 170 passengers, which he said indicates that there is recovery.

Chief Commissioner of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) Captain Haitham Misto announced earlier on Thursday that permits were granted to Queen Alia International Airport and King Hussein International Airport, in addition to local airlines, to resume operations.

Earlier last week, Tourism Minister Majd Shweikeh had announced an array of programmes to encourage domestic tourism, mainly the Urdun Jannah programme that supports local airlines through a designated JD1 million for daily flights between Amman and Aqaba, which cost travellers only JD40 for going and return.

She also announced that support will be given to tourism service providers who are participating in the Urdun Jannah programme in the governorates, at a cost of JD1.2 million, in addition to assistance for hotels and camps in Petra.

Passengers Unwilling To Fly Now

People are less willing to fly now than they were at the height of the coronavirus lockdown, according to research carried out for the airline industry’s main trade group.

Only 45 per cent of those polled in late May and early June said they’d be prepared to board a plane within one or two months of restrictions being lifted, down from 60 per cent in April, the International Air Transport Association said on Tuesday.

If anything, consumers have actually got rather more cautious and we have a majority saying now that they would wait more than six months before travelling, IATA Chief Economist Brian Pearce said in a press briefing. The survey is telling us that passengers are rather cautious.

Airlines around the world have been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, and signs are the recovery won’t be quick.

Other indicators also point to an uncertain demand environment. New bookings are down 82 per cent from a year ago, according to IATA, improving only slightly from a low point in April.

Reservations are also being made far later, with 41 per cent of people booking within three days or less of their journey last month, compared with 18 per cent in 2019. Demand for long-haul flights remains close to zero.

The trade group, which represents 290 airlines, called for an extension to waivers of the so-called use-it or lose-it airport slot rule through the winter season in light of the lack of forward visibility.

The rule, requiring carriers to use 80 per cent of slots, has been suspended through October 24 in the European Union.

That will give airlines the flexibility they need to focus on meeting passenger demand as it evolves, free from the burden of trying to predict what their schedule might look like a year from now, IATA Chief Executive Officer Alexandre de Juniac said.

IATA forecasts airlines will lose a combined $US84 billion ($122 billion) this year and almost $US16 billion in 2021, more than three times the outflow after the 2008 slump.

Declining fares mean they’ll need to fly 80 per cent full just to break even, so that most will carry on losing money even as services resume, it said, predicting yields will be down 18 per cent globally this year.

TURKEY: Onur Air Resumes Domestic Flights June 26, July 15th For International Flights

The low-cost Turkish airline Onur Air will resume domestic flights on June 26 and international flights on July 15, the company announced Tuesday.

Onur Air said in a statement that it will resume operations with new safety and health measures implemented following more than two months of suspension of flights as part of the restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Flights were suspended on March 28 amid worldwide coronavirus restrictions.

The airline will operate one daily round trip between Istanbul and the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya and the Black Sea city of Trabzon and a trip to the Aegean resort town of Bodrum four days a week, starting from July 26.

Onur Air CEO Teoman Tosun said the company’s priority is to ensure maximum security for the passengers and to offer the cheapest prices available.

Our aircraft are being disinfected in line with national and international health standards to prevent the spread of the virus, Tosun said.

The spread of the virus suspended touristic activity from March as Turkey was quick to close its borders and halt flights and other modes of transportation.

Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines, SunExpress its joint venture with Lufthansa and major budget airline Pegasus have already resumed domestic flights between major routes in the first week of June, after the lifting of travel restrictions due to the pandemic.

The airlines had been scheduled to resume limited international travel from mid-June and are waiting for permission to fly from national and international authorities.

The Low Cost Airlines Market report provides a detailed analysis of global market size, regional and country-level market size, segmentation market growth, market share, competitive Landscape, sales analysis, impact of domestic and global market players, value chain optimization, trade regulations, recent developments, opportunities analysis, strategic market growth analysis, product launches, area marketplace expanding, and new innovations.

Top Companies in the Global Low Cost Airlines Market are Fastjet, Mango, Fly540, Dana Air, JamboJet, Skywise, Onur Air, Bahrain Air, Airblue, Air Arabia, Flydubai, Air Asia X, FlySafair, Sama, Nas Air, Ease On Air, Jazeera Airways and Others.

Onur Air is a low-cost airline with its headquarters in the Technical Hangar B at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Yeşilköy, Istanbul, Turkey.

It operates mostly domestic scheduled services, as well as a wide range of charter flights out of its base at Istanbul Airport. Its aircraft and crews also operate for its partly owned leisure subsidiary Holiday Europe.

Onur Air was established on 14 April 1992 and started revenue operations using a wet-leased Airbus A320 with a flight to Ercan in North Cyprus on 14 May of that year.

Onur means proud, self-esteem in Turkish. Over the next years, the Onurair fleet grew, so that by the end of 1995, it included nine aircraft.

Previously its head office was in Florya, Bakırköy, Istanbul.

In 1996, Ten Tour acquired ownership of the airline. By 1997 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 twin-jet airliners had been added to the fleet. Due to a recession, Onur Air had to reduce the size of its fleet to 13 in 1998, and then to 9 in 1999. Since then the airline has expanded again.

As of 6 April 2019 all of Onur Air's flights from their former base at Ataturk Airport have been relocated to the new Istanbul Airport.[

In August 2019, Onur Air established a new, partly-owned subsidiary named Holiday Europe for leisure flights between Europe and destinations around the Mediterranean. Onur Air provides aircraft and crews for the new brand.

On 17 June 2003, Onur Air Flight 2263, a McDonnell Douglas MD-88 registration TC-ONP overshot the runway at Groningen Airport Eelde following an aborted take-off. There were no injuries, but the airline was accused of security breaches.

On 12 May 2005, Onur Air was denied access to Dutch airspace for a month. Several incidents were the cause of the suspension of the airline. Negotiations took place between the Dutch authorities and Onur Air and on 24 May 2005 Onur Air had permission to fly from and to the Netherlands again.

On 1 January 2007, the cargo hold of a McDonnell Douglas MD-88 aircraft burst open upon landing at Ataturk International Airport, spilling luggage onto the runway.

On 7 September 2007, an Airbus A321 aircraft lost cabin pressure on a charter flight from Dalaman Airport to Birmingham Airport, resulting in an emergency landing at Atatürk International Airport. Passenger reports included a smoking engine and broken down oxygen masks.

On 20 August 2011, an Onur Air pilot forgot to contact Munich Air Traffic Control and caused the quick reaction air defence of both Germany and Austria to send four Eurofighter Typhoons to intercept the company's A321.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Raises S$10 billion Of Liquidity

Singapore Airlines (SIA) announced that the Company has raised S$10 billion or 6,3 billion euro of liquidity through its recent Rights Issue, as well as a mix of secured and unsecured credit facilities.

This puts SIA on a steady footing as it tackles the challenges posed by the global Covid-19 outbreak.

SIA secured S$8.8 billion in liquidity through the successful completion of the rights issue on 5 June 2020.

And more S$900 million was raised through long term loans secured on some of SIA’s Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-10 aircraft.

Singapore Airlines has also arranged new committed lines of credit and a short term unsecured loan with several banks, which provide further fresh liquidity amounting to more than S$500 million.

Separately, all existing committed lines of credit that were due to mature during the course of 2020 have been renewed until 2021 or later, thus ensuring continued access to more than S$1.7 billion in liquidity.

During this period of high uncertainty, SIA will continue to explore additional means to shore up liquidity as necessary.

For the period up to July 2021, the Company also retains the option to raise up to a further S$6.2 billion in additional mandatory convertible bonds, which will provide additional liquidity if necessary.

Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Goh Choon Phong said. “We are grateful for the strong support of our shareholders for our successful rights issue, which has secured the company’s future amid an unprecedented global health and economic crisis. We are also grateful to our relationship banks for their support in extending additional secured and unsecured loans, as well as committed lines of credit. SIA will remain steadfast and agile during this period of great uncertainty, and continue to act nimbly in responding to the evolving market conditions.”

Singapore Airlines has become the first passenger flight to return to New Zealand after lockdown.

Flight SQ285 touched down in Auckland this afternoon as the airline resumes services in Auckland and Christchurch.

Auckland Airport's general manager for aeronautical commercial Scott Tasker says it's a positive step.

We're really pleased today to have Singapore Airlines restart their services that are carrying passengers.

They're reinstating the ability of people to fly to and from New Zealand via Singapore.

Mr Tasker says it's significant New Zealanders can now return home on commercial flights from a major international hub like Changi Airport and not have to rely on repatriation flights.

However, the return of international flight doesn't mean the immediate return of tourists.

At this stage, anyone coming into New Zealand must be a New Zealand resident or citizen and still require a 14 day quarantine."

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Auckland Airport averaged more than 2000 international flights a month, operated by more than 20 airlines.

In the month of June we expected to have about 101 flights operated by 10 airlines, so the volume of flights have reduced significantly, says Mr Tasker.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is the flag carrier airline of Singapore with its hub at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for using the Singapore Girl as its central figure in corporate branding.

It has been ranked as the world's best airline by Skytrax four times and topped Travel & Leisure's best airline rankings for more than 20 years.

Singapore Airlines includes many airline-related subsidiaries. SIA Engineering Company handles maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) business across nine countries, with a portfolio of 27 joint ventures, including with Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

Singapore Airlines Cargo operates SIA's freighter fleet and manages the cargo-hold capacity in SIA's passenger aircraft. It has two subsidiaries: SilkAir operates regional flights to secondary cities, while Scoot operates as a low-cost carrier.

Singapore Airlines was the launch customer for the Airbus A380 - the world's largest passenger aircraft - as well as the Boeing 787-10 and the ultra-long-range version of the Airbus A350-900.

It ranks amongst the top 15 carriers worldwide in terms of revenue passenger kilometers, and is ranked tenth in the world for international passengers carried.[6] Singapore Airlines was voted as the Skytrax World's Best Airline Cabin Crew 2019.

The airline also won the second and fourth positions as the World's Best Airlines and World's Cleanest Airlines respectively for 2019.

GERMANY: Eurowings Holidays Starts New Offers

Eurowings Holidays, the tour operator brand of Eurowings, has expanded its product portfolio and now also offers customers holiday homes and apartments.

Preaparing for the start of the holiday season, customers can choose around 1,000 attractive holiday homes on the popular holiday island of Palma de Mallorca and in Greece from the extended portfolio of Eurowings Holidays.

In the coming months, holiday homes and apartments in all other popular Eurowings destinations around the Mediterranean are to be added.

The spectrum of holiday homes ranges from very attractively priced domiciles in the three-star segment to villas and houses in the luxury segment.

Via the Eurowings Holidays portal, customers can easily and conveniently combine their preferred holiday home with just a few clicks, including their outgoing and return flight from the desired departure airport.

In addition, it is also possible to book a transfer from the airport to the accommodation or a rental car online.

The demand for holiday homes and apartments has already risen continuously in recent years. Due to the current situation, however, interest has again increased considerably not only in the North and Baltic Seas, but also in the Mediterranean region.

Individuality and personal freedom are becoming increasingly important for holidaymakers and families.

This is the reason why we want to make very attractive offers to our customers in this segment with Eurowings Holidays, said Oliver Schmitt, chief commercial officer of Eurowings.

KENYA: Extention Of International Travel Restrictions

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta announced (06-Jun-2020) the following updates in the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic:

International travel restrictions were extended. The Ministry of Transport will engage all key stakeholders and develop protocols within seven days to guide the resumption of local air travel;
The cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi metropolitan area, Mombasa and Mandera was extended by 30 days;
The cessation of movement into and out of Kilifi and Kwale counties shall lapse on 07-Jun-2020;
The government will develop time bound protocols within 14 days for the progressive reopening of the economy.
Mr Kenyatta commented: "I want to open up at the earliest opportunity and get the economy going".

The Eighth [8th] Presidential Address on the Coronavirus Pandemic State House Saturday, June 6th, 2020

Fellow Kenyans,

On the 27th March, 2020 we announced a nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew. Then on the 5th of April, 2020 we augmented it by announcing the Cessation of Movement into and out of a number of areas. Later on, more measures were announced to contain the havoc visited upon us by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Given this trajectory, and the fact that this crisis requires a long term strategy, I took time to reflect on “…What must be Done”. If we lift the cessation of movement ban, how will this help us fight the Pandemic? And if we do NOT, how will the ban affect our economy, especially, the micro business enterprises and those who derive their livelihoods from them?

To answer these questions, I turned to our Brain Trust, made up of the finest doctors, research scientists, and public practitioners for counsel. And I must admit that opinion was divided on how we are to advance against this VIRUS.

Some, including myself, wanted to open up NOW. That was, and is still my desire. I want to OPEN UP at the earliest opportunity and get the economy going. More so, as Kenya was ranked the third largest economy in Sub-Sahara Africa this week.

Others held a contrary opinion. They borrowed from history, scientific models and current experiences the world-over to argue against opening up.

With these two viewpoints on the table, I was not dealing with a RIGHT and a WRONG: I was caught in-between two RIGHTS. Those who want to open up are RIGHT, and those opposed to opening up are also RIGHT. And this clash of two RIGHTS placed me on the ‘Horns of a DILEMMA’.

In the absence of a scientific consensus amongst experts in the medical, research and public sectors, I asked for scenarios. I wanted to know the worst case scenario and the best options available for us to contain the spread of the disease without affecting the economy irreversibly. And I wanted these scenarios built around raw facts because we have decided to combat this pandemic in an open and transparent manner.

Fellow Kenyans,

Truth be told, if we had not taken the STRINGENT measures we did in March 2020, the rate of infections would have peaked to 800,000 people by July 30th 2020. And if one infected person has potential to infect two people, this number would have hit 2.4 million people in 21 days. By the end of august, 75,000 Kenyans would have died from this virus. But because of the early interventions we took, we have recorded only 2,600 infections and 83 deaths.

If this is the worst case scenario, I wanted to know what the other scenarios looked like. If we put in place all the necessary interventions and relaxed them by only 20%, what would this look like?

According to the experts standing behind me, relaxing the interventions by 20% would lead to 200,000 infections and 30,000 deaths by December 2020.

Further, if we relax the interventions by 40%, the infections will peak in November 2020 with 300,000 infected and 40,000 deaths. And if we relax them by 60%, the pandemic will peak in October with 450,000 infections and 45,000 deaths.

Although these projections are generated by a model, there is hard evidence suggesting that countries which opened up without proper protocols also experienced serious waves of infections. Spikes of infections were for instance experienced after re-opening religious gatherings in South Korea, Pakistan and Malaysia.

If this is our new reality, and we face the dilemma of easing restrictions or continuing with them, what must we do as a country? What is the irreducible minimum for re-opening the country? What is the threshold below which we cannot go?

According to the professionals standing behind me, the irreducible minimum for lifting the restrictions has three thresholds. One, to open up, the infections must have been contained and headed downwards.

Two, our health care system must be prepared sufficiently to take on a surge in infections. It must not be overwhelmed at any one point during the pandemic. Access to testing, isolation and quarantine must be a bare minimum. Three, capacity for surveillance and contact tracing must be in place.

The question we must ponder is whether we have met this threshold in order to lift the restrictions. Have the cases of infections taken a down turn, for instance? And the answer is NO. Nairobi and Mombasa are taking the lead with new infections.

Have we met the second minimum of a prepared health system with isolation facilities? I will answer that question by giving you two examples. Siaya County has a ten (10) bed isolation facility and they have already admitted nine (9) Covid-19 patients from only one incident.

Similarly, Busia County has a thirty-four (34) bed isolation facility. And by two days ago, it was full.

If there is a surge in infections in these two counties, the health care system will be overwhelmed. The hard question to pose here, therefore, is whether Kenyans are prepared to nurse COVID-19 patients in their homes if our health care system cannot handle the numbers.

Are they prepared to expose their children and the elderly to COVID-19 patients in the close proximity of home?

And yes, we have disbursed Ksh 5 billion to the counties to increase their health care capacity in view of this pandemic. But to build the necessary health infrastructure for such undertakings requires time. We must get ahead of this pandemic by creating lead time.

Therefore, while I consider the possibility of de-escalating the containment measures in place and conscious that Health is a shared function - between the National and County Governments, I, have convened an Extra-Ordinary session of the National and County Government Co-ordinating Summit on Wednesday the 10th day of June, 2020, to consider the following salient matters:

(i) First, to review the effectiveness of the containment measures we have so far rolled out to break the chain of transmission of the Coronavirus Disease;

(ii) Second, to secure the undertaking of every County Government to deliver isolation facilities with at least 300 bed-capacity.

(iii) And thirdly, within 14 days, to develop time bound protocols for progressive re-opening of the economy.

Fellow Kenyans,

I have applied my mind to the different scenarios presented by our experts. And I have reconciled myself to the fact that to ‘open’ or not to ‘open’ up is not a dilemma between a right and a wrong. It is a dilemma between two rights.

Because of this, and fully cognizant of the irreducible minimum given by our experts, and in keeping with the advice of the National Security Council; I hereby DIRECT and ORDER as follows:

I. That the cessation of movement into and out of the Eastleigh Area of Nairobi and the specific limitations in force with respect to the Mombasa Old Town Area that is currently in force, shall lapse at 4:00 a.m. on 7th of June, 2020.

II. That in view of the successful containment of the disease in the Counties of Kilifi and Kwale, the cessation of movement into and out of the two Counties that is currently in force, shall lapse at 4:00 a.m. on 7th of June, 2020.

III. That following stakeholder’s consultations in the education sector - the Ministry of Education jointly with the Ministry of Health issues and publicizes guidelines on a gradual and progressive return to normalcy in the education sector by the Third Term, from 1st September, 2020. Further, that the ministry announces the new school calendar by mid -August.

IV. That following consultations with interfaith and religious organizations, the Ministries of Interior and Health within seven days, constitutes an Inter-Faith Council, to work out modalities and protocols of re-opening of the places of worship.

V. That in the meantime, the ban on all forms of gatherings, including but not limited to political gatherings, social gatherings, including bars be and is hereby extended for a further 30 days.

VI. That due to the evolving nature of the disease globally, international travel restrictions are hereby extended. In the meantime, the Ministry of Transport is directed within seven days from the date hereof, to engage all Key Stakeholders and develop protocols to guide resumption of local air travel.

VII. That due to the increase in patterns of infections, the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa and Mandera be further extended by 30 days.

VIII. To accord all Kenyans the opportunity to enjoy a full-day’s work, the nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew currently in force until today the 6th June, 2020, be and is extended for a further 30 days. However, the commencement time for the same is varied from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; with the end time for the same being varied from 5:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Therefore, effective 7th June, 2020 the national wide dusk-to-dawn Curfew will run from 9:00 O’clock in the evening to 4:00 O’clock in the morning.

Fellow Kenyans,

Recognizing that the negative impact of COVID-19 is not limited to health care, my Administration has made targeted interventions to protect our economy.

At the outset of this pandemic, my administration injected KSh. 216 Billion back into the Economy through tax refunds, rebates and waivers. In the second phase we have further rolled-out Ksh. 53.7 Billion under the 8-point stimulus package to reinvigorate our Economy.

And on Madaraka day, I announced that a total of Ksh 2 billion would be injected into the hotel industry to cushion them from the effects of this pandemic. Modalities of how these resources will be shared are to be released next week.

Finally, I wish to assure each and every Kenyan that I shall do all that is necessary to limit the negative effects of COVID-19 on our People, Economy and Way of Life. Rest assured, my Administration will restore our lost livelihoods, our lost opportunities and our lost wealth.

I call on all Kenyans, particularly landlords and employers, to put people before profits during these testing times.

Permit me to close by saying that this Disease is beatable if we work together; listen to and apply the regulations, guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health; and keep our eyes on slaying the enemy.

(i) First, to review the effectiveness of the containment measures we have so far rolled out to break the chain of transmission of the Coronavirus Disease;

(ii) Second, to secure the undertaking of every County Government to deliver isolation facilities with at least 300 bed-capacity.

(iii) And thirdly, within 14 days, to develop time bound protocols for progressive re-opening of the economy.

Fellow Kenyans,

I have applied my mind to the different scenarios presented by our experts. And I have reconciled myself to the fact that to ‘open’ or not to ‘open’ up is not a dilemma between a right and a wrong. It is a dilemma between two rights.

Because of this, and fully cognizant of the irreducible minimum given by our experts, and in keeping with the advice of the National Security Council; I hereby DIRECT and ORDER as follows:

That the cessation of movement into and out of the Eastleigh Area of Nairobi and the specific limitations in force with respect to the Mombasa Old Town Area that is currently in force, shall lapse at 4:00 a.m. on 7th of June, 2020.

That in view of the successful containment of the disease in the Counties of Kilifi and Kwale, the cessation of movement into and out of the two Counties that is currently in force, shall lapse at 4:00 a.m. on 7th of June, 2020.

III. That following stakeholder’s consultations in the education sector - the Ministry of Education jointly with the Ministry of Health issues and publicizes guidelines on a gradual and progressive return to normalcy in the education sector by the Third Term, from 1st September, 2020. Further, that the ministry announces the new school calendar by mid -August.

That following consultations with interfaith and religious organizations, the Ministries of Interior and Health within seven days, constitutes an Inter-Faith Council, to work out modalities and protocols of re-opening of the places of worship.

That in the meantime, the ban on all forms of gatherings, including but not limited to political gatherings, social gatherings, including bars be and is hereby extended for a further 30 days.

That due to the evolving nature of the disease globally, international travel restrictions are hereby extended. In the meantime, the Ministry of Transport is directed within seven days from the date hereof, to engage all Key Stakeholders and develop protocols to guide resumption of local air travel.

That due to the increase in patterns of infections, the cessation of movement into and out of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area, Mombasa and Mandera be further extended by 30 days.

To accord all Kenyans the opportunity to enjoy a full-day’s work, the nationwide dusk-to-dawn curfew currently in force until today the 6th June, 2020, be and is extended for a further 30 days. However, the commencement time for the same is varied from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.; with the end time for the same being varied from 5:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. Therefore, effective 7th June, 2020 the national wide dusk-to-dawn Curfew will run from 9:00 O’clock in the evening to 4:00 O’clock in the morning.

Fellow Kenyans,

Recognizing that the negative impact of COVID-19 is not limited to health care, my Administration has made targeted interventions to protect our economy.

At the outset of this pandemic, my administration injected KSh. 216 Billion back into the Economy through tax refunds, rebates and waivers. In the second phase we have further rolled-out Ksh. 53.7 Billion under the 8-point stimulus package to reinvigorate our Economy.

And on Madaraka day, I announced that a total of Ksh 2 billion would be injected into the hotel industry to cushion them from the effects of this pandemic. Modalities of how these resources will be shared are to be released next week.

Finally, I wish to assure each and every Kenyan that I shall do all that is necessary to limit the negative effects of COVID-19 on our People, Economy and Way of Life. Rest assured, my Administration will restore our lost livelihoods, our lost opportunities and our lost wealth.

I call on all Kenyans, particularly landlords and employers, to put people before profits during these testing times.

Permit me to close by saying that this Disease is beatable if we work together; listen to and apply the regulations, guidelines and protocols issued by the Ministry of Health; and keep our eyes on slaying the enemy.

Press release from Kenya Presidency on 05-Jun-2020.

SOUTH AFRICA: Restaurants And Bars Open, But For Take Aways Only

Retailers will be able to sell food, including rotisserie chickens and pies, as well as bread baked in-store in Level 3, from Monday.

Minister of Trade and Industry Ebrahim Patel said in a briefing that hot food will now be allowed in stores, but there must be clear protocols.

Retailers will, for example, have to ensure that not too many people are at the same counter at the same time, Patel said.

In mid-April, retailers including Woolworths, Shoprite and Checkers scrambled to close their hot-food stations after Patel reprimanded them in a briefing. He said they were not supposed to have hot food sections since the start of the national lockdown.

Sit-down meals will still not be allowed in South Africa in Level 3. Meals need to be delivered, or can be collected, also through drive-throughs. But restaurants along with bars, taverns and shebeens can now sell alcohol for deliveries or collection.

Restaurants have demanded an explanation from government on why they should remain shut for eaters while South African places of worship, such as mosques and churches, can reopen during lockdown Level 3 on 1 June.

Alcoholic drinks will go on legal sale again in South Africa on Monday, after 66 days of prohibition.

There will be strict rules about buying booze under Alert Level 3, government ministers announced on Thursday, in a preview of regulations that were published late on Thursday afternoon – but much less strict than originally envisaged.

Bars, taverns, and licensed restaurants will be able to sell booze too, on a takeaway basis, and hours of sale will be much longer than had once been planned.

All online sale of alcoholic drinks will also be allowed from Monday, with distributors allowed to start moving booze around in preparation from Friday.

Previously the transport of alcoholic drinks, even by manufacturers and distributors, had been strictly prohibited.

South Africans have been scrambling to order their booze for delivery from Monday, but with demand overwhelming retailers, those deliveries could take a while to arrive.

Bars and taverns and restaurants will act as bottle stores.

Any place that had a licence to sell alcohol before lockdown whether for off-premises consumption or at the premises will be allowed to sell booze, the draft regulations say.

But there will be no on-premises consumption.

That effectively turns bars, restaurants which had alcohol licences and taverns into liquor stores.

All alcohol must be sold in sealed containers, and must be consumed at home, said trade and industry minister Ebrahim Patel during a briefing on Thursday.

Patel confirmed that taverns, registered shebeens, restaurants and so on are covered under the regulations.

Further rules on how, exactly, they must manage sales, are still to come.

Booze will only be for sale up to Thursday but now also in the afternoon.

The original plan had been to limit booze sales to mornings only, Monday to Wednesday. But that has been extended up to Thursday and until 17:00 every day.

Weekend sales of booze, though, will remain explicitly prohibited.

E-commerce delivery has the same hours.

Online sales of booze are allowed but with e-commerce bundled in with bricks-and-mortar sales, the same limitation on hours apply.

That means your booze delivery will have to be between 09:00 and 17:00 Monday to Thursday, or not at all.

Distributors can start moving booze around from Friday.

The prohibition on any transportation of alcohol drops on Friday, 29 May, though sale becomes legal only on Monday, 1 June. That will give distributors time to get ready for what is expected to be something of a rush.

There will be no legal measures to prevent crowds at liquor stores.

One industry group asked government for regulations to prevent crowding at liquor stores when they reopen, proposing limiting people with certain surnames to certain days.

But government would not institute such measures, Patel said. Instead it will hold the liquor industry accountable for preventing crowds and crowding.

He called on South Africans to maintain physical distancing when they go out to get booze.

SOUTH AFRICA: Domestic Flights Resume

Domestic Air travel between four South African cities starts on Monday, airports and airlines will have to adhere to strict rules to ensure physical distancing between travelers.

Check-in counters, security checkpoints, and airport lounges must all have markings on the floor to indicate the 1.5 metre distance people are expected to keep from one another.

Only travelers will be allowed to enter terminal airport buildings under rules for Alert Level 3; anyone picking up or dropping off a passenger must remain outside.

Boarding will be by section to stop crowding, and passengers will be called to gates in a staggered fashion.

Where airport buss are used, those will be limited to loading 70% of their maximum capacity, as is also the case for minibus taxis.

But those restrictions end at the entrance to the plane.

Inside the cabin, full capacity will be allowed, said Mbalula.

It must be noted that the risk of Covid-19 infection onboard a commercial passenger airliner is lower than in many other confined spaces.

Commercial aircraft feature high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters, which are very effective in blocking viruses from being recirculated within a cabin.

Airlines believe the compulsory masks for passengers will take care of the common mechanism by which the coronavirus spreads: droplets liberated when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Any particles that do escape from masks should be drawn to the floor, where air intakes are located, and should then be stopped by the HEPA filters before air flows back into the cabin.

Airplane cabins will not be 100% full, however. The last row of every flight must be reserved for suspected cases of Covid-19, in case a passenger with symptoms of the disease somehow gets through pre-boarding temperature checks.

Flights will feature no catering, and seat-pocket magazines are banned.

RWANDA: Kigali International Airport Expansion

Rwanda Government has began plans to upgrade the airport. The new upgrade will see the airport increase its aircraft parking capacity, arrival terminal and the runway strip.

Managing Director of Rwanda Airports Company (RAC), Firmin Karambizi said “We are expanding the aircraft parking capacity and runway strip to increase the safety in case of unintentional excursion from the runway surface. We are also extending the arrival terminal.”

The arrival terminal will be extended to have an extra passenger processing area, allowing it to fully comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

Meanwhile, the service road - runway strip will be 3.1 kilometres, while the parking capacity will allow the airport to accommodate 18 aircrafts at ago according to Karambizi.

So far, RAC say over US$30 million has been invested in the upgrade of the airport during the last three years, allowing it to have a new apron, three taxiways, a hangar and an upcoming upgrade of airfield lighting.

These upgrade is aimed at reducing congestion at the check in and arrival areas, expand the departure lounge area, increase VIP comfort, and enhance baggage handling efficiency while promoting its reputation across Africa.

United Nations World Tourism Organisation Issues New Tourism Guidelines

United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has released a set of guidelines designed to help the sector emerge stronger and more sustainably from Covid-19.

The guidelines highlight the need to act decisively, to restore confidence and, as UNWTO strengthens its partnership with Google, to embrace innovation and the digital transformation of global tourism.

The guidelines were produced in consultation with the Global Tourism Crisis Committee and aim to support governments and private sector platers as they to recover from an unparalleled crisis.

Depending on when travel restrictions are lifted, the United Nations specialised agency warns that international tourist arrivals could fall by between 60 and 80 per cent.

This puts 100-120 million jobs at risk and could lead to US$910 billion to US$1.2 trillion lost in exports.

UNWTO secretary general, Zurab Pololikashvili, said: These guidelines provide both governments and businesses with a comprehensive set of measures designed to help them open tourism up again in a safe, seamless and responsible manner.

They are the product of the enhanced cooperation that has characterized tourism’s response to this shared challenge, building on knowledge and inputs from across the public and private sectors and from several UN agencies as part of the UN’s wider response.

The new guide, a follow up of the recommendations for action already endorsed by the Committee, is focused on seven priorities for tourism recovery based on the pillars of mitigating the economic impact, developing safety protocols and coordinated responds and fostering innovation.

These guidelines provide both governments and businesses with a comprehensive set of measures designed to help them open tourism up again in a safe, seamless and responsible manner

They highlight the importance of restoring the confidence of the travellers through safety and security protocols designed to reduce risks in each step of the tourism value chain.

These protocols include the implementation of check procedures where appropriate, including temperature scans, testing, physical distancing, enhanced frequency of cleaning and the provision of hygiene kits for safe air travel, hospitality services or safe events.

USA: Marriott Threatens Job Losses, But Opens Hotels

Marriott has told employees in the United States that furloughs and reduced work week schedules which began in April will be extended through to October.

The decision was taken as the coronavirus pandemic continues to slow demand for travel.

The financial impact of the pandemic is more severe than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis combined, Marriott said.

The company is rolling out a voluntary redundancy program for on-property and above-property staff in the United States who may choose to leave.

Similar voluntary programs are being considered in other parts of the world.

Given the company’s expectation that prior levels of business will not return until beyond 2021, the company anticipates a significant number of above-property position eliminations later this year, added a statement.

The company is not able at this time to predict how many associates will be affected by these separations or any resulting charges or cost savings.

Marriott has reopened all of its hotels in China and the group says it has seen a recovery in business travel.

The world's third largest hotel chain has 350 outlets across China and says that occupancy rate is now at 40%.

Marriott gave an upbeat statement on Monday about its business in China as it emerges from coronavirus lockdowns.

Last week it said the financial impact from the pandemic has been more severe for the hotel chain than 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis combined.

Marriott chief executive Arne Sorenson said the occupancy rates at its Chinese hotels had been as low as 7% in late January when China was at its peak of cases.

Mr Sorenson told a travel conference: It's not just leisure travel growing, but it is business travel. Chinese are flying again.

However, he warned that occupancy might not recover to pre-coronavirus levels for several years.

Marriott said demand for hotel rooms in the US is also recovering but is currently only about half the level of its China properties at 20%.

The hotel group, which owns about 30 brands including Ritz-Carlton, St Regis and Sheraton, has extended furloughs for employees and reduced working weeks until early October.

Given the company's expectation that prior levels of business will not return until beyond 2021, the company anticipates a significant number of above-property position eliminations later this year, it said in a statement.

Rival Hilton reopened all of its 255 hotels in China two weeks ago and introduced a CleanStay initiative to protect employees and guests.

The hotel and travel industry in China were among the first to be hit from the coronavirus outbreak, and look to be the slowest to recover as businesses and factories reopen across the country.

Last month, Shanghai Disneyland reopened its gates although it introduced strict social distancing rules and limited daily visitors to about 24,000, compared to its pre-pandemic level of 80,000.

Within the United States, the world’s largest hotel brand Marriott is seeing occupancy rates rise as the travel industry begins to inch toward recovery, surpassing 20% among its open properties.

Crossing over 20% occupancy is a meaningful improvement from where we were before, but it is a long way from where we need to get to, Marriott International president and CEO Arne Sorenson said today at a travel conference hosted by Goldman Sachs.

That uptick is similar to the incremental climb reported by the airline industry ahead of Memorial Day weekend, traditionally one of the busiest travel times of the year.

Sorenson said most of Marriott’s occupancy growth was from drive-to markets, which is in line with expectations that domestic local travel will return well before international travel.

Extended stay hotels have been less hard-hit than the rest of the hospitality industry, with some seeing occupancy rates in the 30% to 40% range.

The Residence Inn brand would be performing better than the Courtyard brand, and leisure markets are performing better than the others, Sorenson said. It’s a steady move forward.

Despite the inklings of recovery, Marriott announced last week that it would extend furloughs that began in April through Oct. 2. Sorenson commented on this during the conference, noting that in addition to on-site workers, the company had furloughed two-thirds of its corporate staff.

It would have been incomprehensible before Covid-19. We know we won’t be able to bring everybody back, Sorenson said.

Meanwhile, in China, where all of Marriott’s 350 outlets have fully reopened, hotels and inns are crossing 40% occupancy rates as restaurants and businesses also begin to return.

It’s a big enough country where you can’t have those numbers without seeing leisure and business travel growing, said Sorenson. We are seeing steady improvement.

Like the United States, China is a domestic travel market, and its recovery could foreshadow where the U.S. market is headed.

With occupancy down and travelers concerned about health and sanitation more than ever—Hilton has partnered with Lysol, while Marriott launched its own cleanliness council—Sorenson said the new cleaning initiatives could impact revenue.

On the cost side, we will spend more on cleaning between guest stays than we spent before Covid-19, Sorenson said.

Think about the electrostatic sprayers we’re rolling out globally, which will intensify that cleaning—there is a cost to the equipment, there is a cost the materials that are used, and there is a labor cost associated in that incremental step.

But, we think it is imperative we do it to deliver to our guests a safe room.

The initiatives may not last forever, Sorenson noted, but will be maintained as long as Covid-19 is any way relevant to decisions we’re making about travel.

CHILE: LATAM Files For U.S. Bankruptcy Protection Seeking Emergency Reorganization Due To The Pandemic.

LATAM Airlines Group has sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States as the company seeks to reorganise in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Affiliates in Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador are all involved in the move.

Colombian carrier Avianca took a similar step earlier this month.

LATAM entered the Covid-19 pandemic as a healthy and profitable airline group, yet exceptional circumstances have led to a collapse in global demand and has not only brought aviation to a virtual standstill.

But it has also changed the industry for the foreseeable future, says Roberto Alvo, chief executive of LATAM.

We have implemented a series of difficult measures to mitigate the impact of this unprecedented industry disruption, but ultimately this path represents the best option to lay the right foundation for the future of our airline group.

We are looking ahead to a post-Covid-19 future and are focused on transforming our group to adapt to a new and evolving way of flying, with the health and safety of our passengers and employees being paramount.”

LATAM laid off 1,800 employees out of over 40,000 in the lead-up to its bankruptcy filing.

The group said it had secured the financial support of shareholders, including the Cueto and Amaro families, and Qatar Airways, to provide up to $900 million in debtor-in-possession financing.

In addition, as of the filing for voluntary protection, the group had approximately US$$1.3 billion in cash on hand.

The chapter 11 financial reorganisation process is a legal framework under which LATAM, and its affiliates, will have the opportunity to resize operations to the new demand environment.

LATAM said it was also in discussions with the governments of Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru to assist in sourcing additional financing, protect jobs where possible and minimise disruption to its operations.

Faced with the biggest crisis in the history of aviation, the Board has approved this path forward having analysed all the available alternatives to ensure the sustainability of the group.

As we have adapted to new realities in the past, we are confident that LATAM will be able to succeed in the post-Covid-19 context and continue to serve Latin America, connecting the region with the world, said Ignacio Cueto, chairman of LATAM board of directors.

LATAM Airlines, the largest Latin American air transport group, had losses of $2.12 billion in the first quarter after an accounting adjustment of its assets amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company said in a statement late on Friday.

LATAM said its operational quarterly result was 17% higher year-on-year despite the fact that in March it reduced its offer of flights due to the first effects of the health crisis.

The firm mainly attributed the loss to a goodwill impairment loss of $1.73 billion as a result of the pandemic, the statement said.

The accounting loss is a natural consequence of the impact that COVID-19 has had over the entire industry, where inevitably the assets of airlines are devalued due to the impossibility of operating, CEO Roberto Alvo said in the statement.

Revenue from ordinary activities fell 6.8% to $2.266 billion between January and March.

LATAM filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, becoming the world’s largest carrier so far to seek an emergency reorganization due to the pandemic.

LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is an airline holding company headquartered in Santiago, Chile. It is considered the largest airline in Latin America with subsidiaries in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru.

Although LATAM Airlines' headquarters are located in Chile, the carrier is an American depositary receipt and trades on both the Santiago Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States on May 26, 2020 due to economic problems attributed to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation.

Chile's LAN Airlines and Brazil's TAM Airlines signed a non-binding agreement to merge on 13 August 2010, followed by a binding agreement on 19 January 2011 and papers to close the merger on 22 June 2012, with TAM Airlines’ shareholders agreeing to the takeover by LAN Airlines.

Enrique Cueto, former CEO of LAN, became the CEO of LATAM;[16] Mauricio Rolim Amaro, formerly vice-chairman of TAM, became LATAM chairman.

AUSTRALIA: Zoo Keeper Mauled By Two Lions At Shoalhaven Zoo, Gets Serious Injuries To Her Head And Neck.

The big cat expert who was savaged by two lions at a zoo on the New South Wales south coast has been named, as the woman continues to fight for life.

Jennifer Brown was attacked by the lions while tending to cleaning duties inside their enclosure at Shoalhaven Zoo in North Nowra, NSW Police Superintendent Greg Moore said.

I'll take this opportunity to commend the two zoo staff that reacted to the incident and were able to secure the lions and support their colleague, he said.

Ms Brown, 35, was mauled on the head and neck, an ambulance spokesman said, with paramedics and a specialist medical team having to walk into a lion’s den to save her.

In an update on Friday afternoon, NSW Ambulance said the keeper had a number of lacerations and bites.

Jennifer Brown is an experienced lion trainer.

Inspector Faye Stockman described the rescue as absolutely harrowing, adding that the attack was extremely vicious and paramedics found the woman with severe injuries.

Ms Brown was taken by ambulance to meet a helicopter and then flown to St George Hospital in a critical but stable condition.

An investigation is now under way to determine how the attack occurred.

Supt Moore said he understands it would not be normal practice for someone to enter the enclosure while the lions were outside a particular area.

Inspector Stockman, who was first on the scene, described the situation as incredibly dangerous – both for the patient and the paramedics.

This is one of the worst jobs I have ever experienced – I have never come across a job like this in my career, Inspector Stockman said.

Being the first to walk into the enclosure was one of the most frightening experiences we literally had to walk into a lion’s den.

We are trained to deal with extreme or unusual situations, however, we do have support services available to us.

Police earlier said they were called to the zoo on Rockhill Rd just before 10.30am following reports a zoo keeper had been attacked by a lion and was suffering serious head and neck injuries.

NSW Ambulance earlier said were responding to reports of an unconscious zoo keeper in the lion enclosure.

She was reportedly comforted by two of her colleagues who helped to secure the lions.

A spokeswoman for the zoo said on Friday afternoon no comment was being made about the situation at this time.

South Coast Police District officers have established a crime scene and are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Supt Moore said they will be working with relevant authorities regarding the future of the two lions involved.

SafeWork NSW was also notified.

According to its Facebook page, the family owned and operated Shoalhaven Zoo has been closed since March 25 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“While we are closed to the public we as a family will continue to live onsite and have key staff coming in to help us ensure the safety and wellbeing, cleaning and feeding of all our animals,” the post reads.

“We value our staff and it has been heart wrenching to stand down some staff. Stay safe everyone! Thank you for all your support and we look forward to seeing you all back at the zoo soon.”

During normal operation, the zoo offers a lion feeding encounter with its “Roarsome Foursome” pride of white lions including “the King of the Savannah”.

The zoo was the site of another animal attack in July 2014.

Keeper Trent Burton was dragged into the water by a 3.7m crocodile during a lunchtime feeding demonstration.

Audience members screamed as the crocodile latched onto his hand and slammed him into the enclosure fence before he managed to escape the ordeal.

AUSTRALIA: Government To Offer $298m To Regional Airlines

Australia’s regional airlines – including Rex, Alliance and Pelican – will have access to $298 million to continue operating through the coronavirus crisis.

An initial $198 million will underwrite airlines’ operating costs on selected regional routes, with a further $100 million earmarked to provide direct financial support to smaller regional airlines should it be needed.

The Regional Air Network Assistance Package comes on top of an earlier $715 million provision for the broader aviation sector, bringing the Federal Government’s aviation buffer to just over $1 billion.

“Regional aviation has been smashed by COVID-19,” said Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister, Michael McCormack.

“The funding will ensure regional communities benefit from an ongoing airline service by underwriting airlines’ operating costs on selected routes.”

“More than 100 regional and remote airports received a scheduled passenger service last month and this funding will be welcome news for the aviation workforce and the broader communities these services support,” McCormack added.

He said that the 26,000 people employed in the regional aviation sector is in turn worth billions of dollars to rural communities.

There are currently around 12 commercial regional airlines operating regular scheduled passenger services across Australia.

The support package follows calls earlier this week for “urgent financial assistance” by nine of Australia’s regional carriers, led by Regional Express and Pelican Airlines.

Rex moved to suspend all flights within NSW, Victoria and South Australia until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission stepped in with unprecedented approval for Regional Express, Qantas and Virgin Australia to share services and revenue on 10 key regional routes during the coronavirus pandemic, provided that fares do not exceed those charged as of February 1, 2020.

Some of the combined services include Sydney–Albury, Sydney-Armidale, Melbourne-Mildura, Adelaide-Port Lincoln, Cairns-Townsville and Townville-Mount Isa.

Rex chief operating officer Neville Howell had previously said the airline could fold within six months without government intervention, and has also requested the Government waive a range of fees and charges for a full year to help offset the impact of the coronavirus on regional air travel.

“If regional carriers collapse, so will many regional communities for which the air service is their lifeline,” Howell predicted.

In a letter to McCormack on March 26, signed by Pelican Airlines CEO Martin Hawley on behalf of eight regional carriers, Hawley warned that “the financial survival of our companies can be counted in days rather than weeks.”

“Unlike the major carriers, our companies are generally privately or family-owned… it is the smaller to mid-size companies that offer much needed air services to regional communities throughout Australia servicing routes unattractive to the major airlines. The risks are high and the margins small.”

The Government’s $298m in funding will be available for regional airlines, contracted aero-medical providers and other related essential service providers through a grants program with monthly payments through to 30 September 2020.

NEWZEALAND: Novotel Christchurch Airport Hotel Is Open

Passengers transiting through Christchurch Airport can now revive at the Novotel Christchurch Airport hotel, conveniently located across from the airport's domestic and international terminal.

With many flights arriving into Christchurch around midnight – as well as departing the South Island’s largest city bright and early from 6am – the hotel and its on-airport location will also be appreciated by travellers who favour convenience in spending the first or last night of their visit in close proximity to their flight.

The NZ$80 million new-build hotel also sits 15 minutes from the city and spans six floors to offer 200 guestrooms including 10 suites, finished in marble, copper tiling and American Oak panelling, designed by Warren and Mahoney Architects: which also designed the popular Novotel Auckland Airport hotel.

Many of the rooms and suites offer views towards the airport, including the terminals, control tower, and departure gates.

The same can be said of the hotel’s meeting and function spaces, which are either at aerobridge level, or on the top level of the hotel, with floor-to-ceiling windows offering views across the runway and over the Southern Alps.

Guests can make use of an on-site gym, car parking, a kids’ corner, a lobby bar, and the hotel’s dining options with Food Exchange restaurant, Gourmet Bar, and The Exchange Bar.

“We know that short-stay business travellers, leisure guests and Accor’s valued 4.5 million Pacific loyalty members will be impressed with the hotel’s features, catering to their transit needs,” shares Gillian Millar, Senior Vice President Operations for Accor New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia.

Novotel Christchurch Airport is Accor’s first airport hotel in Christchurch and its third in New Zealand – the others being in Auckland.

The property also participates in the Le Club AccorHotels loyalty program, which will soon be rebranded as Accor Live Limitless.

CHINA: Beijing Daxing Airport Is GatewayTo China

Five years ago, Daxing was a dusty area of farmland to the south of Beijing, largely neglected by visitors to the city. That’s no longer the case, now that an enormous airport has emerged there to thrust China even closer to toppling the U.S. as the world’s biggest aviation market.

Beijing Daxing International Airport, an 80 billion yuan (US$11.2 billion) starfish-shaped structure hailed by state media as a “new gateway” to the country, opened this week, just in time for the People’s Republic of China’s 70th birthday.

A state-of-the-art terminal designed to eventually handle more than 100 million passengers a year is symbolic for President Xi Jinping, who faces a raft of challenges, including a trade war with the U.S., a slowing economy and mass protests in Hong Kong.

Xi has identified aviation as a key strategic industry. The president attended an official opening ceremony for the new airport, designed by the late Zaha Hadid, on Wednesday.

Within two decades, annual passenger traffic in China’s skies will reach 1.6 billion, according to the International Air Transport Association, more than the country’s population today.

China has set a goal of having 450 commercial airports by 2035, almost double the number at the end of 2018. It’s also developed a jet to compete with Boeing and Airbus.

The vast new airport should increase Beijing’s passenger capacity by 60% and help unclog the capital’s other international airport – the second busiest in the world behind Atlanta – to the north, which often has long delays despite a huge new terminal opening there ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Bottlenecks at Beijing Capital International Airport likely capped annual passenger traffic growth at an average of 4% from 2013 to 2018, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Denise Wong said.

China has little option but to spend big and fast to have a shot at keeping up with demand. In its latest annual report on the commercial aviation market, Boeing said it expects airline passenger traffic in China to grow 6% a year.

McKinsey & Co. says the extra slots at Daxing – which will initially have four runways and eventually seven, including one for military use – could open new direct connections to places such as San Diego.

Beijing now joins major cities including London, New York and Tokyo with more than one international airport. The high-speed rail connecting Daxing to West Beijing will begin operations at the end of the month.

“It can get 10 if not hundreds of new destinations connected to Beijing over the years,” said Steve Saxon, a McKinsey partner in Shanghai. “This is the power of having large connecting hubs.”

Daxing also upends the government’s traditional one-international-route-per-airline model that left long-haul services from Beijing in the hands of Air China.

The new site will become a launchpad to Europe, Asia and beyond for the other two of China’s “Big Three” carriers: China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. They’ll both get their first-ever direct flights to cities including Paris and Moscow.

The goal is to restyle Beijing as an international transport hub as air travel surges with China’s expanding middle class and a greater desire to venture overseas.

The opening of Daxing, which will also help closer integrate Beijing with Tianjin and Hebei, should put China on a stronger footing to compete with traditional transits such as Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as younger hubs like Bangkok, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur.

China still trails many major aviation markets in Asia in terms of connectivity, according to a report by OAG Aviation Worldwide published Tuesday.

Singapore and Hong Kong are the region’s most internationally connected hubs, the report showed. Shanghai Pudong International Airport, China’s top entry, came in eighth.

IATA expects 4.6 billion people to take a flight in 2019, a figure that will almost double to 8.2 billion in 2037 as flying penetrates deeper into the enormous populations of India and Indonesia.

Daxing is just one of many airport projects underway in Asia, collectively costing more than US$100 billion, in a race to handle all those passengers. A new terminal opened at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on September 16.

The relaxation of China’s one-route, one-airline policy at Daxing will encourage Chinese carriers to apply for international routes once monopolized by their competitors, said Yu Zhanfu, a partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants in Beijing who focuses on aviation. Beijing will be a good spot to take a break without making a big detour.

Among the tons of steel and glass at Daxing, passengers will find five traditional-style Chinese gardens with ponds, wooden pavilions and stone bridges.

The new airport also has facial recognition and paperless check-in systems using technologies from companies including China Unicom and Huawei Technologies.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China is offering airlines incentives to use the new airport. They’ll get priority when it comes to obtaining rights for international flights, CAAC’s deputy director of transport department, Yu Biao, said in July.

Foreign carriers can choose to operate in both airports in Beijing, or one of them, but those that switch to Daxing can acquire new routes or more convenient slots, Yu said.

Daxing expects one fifth of its passengers to be transfers by 2025. Among international flag carriers, British Airways said in July it plans to shift its direct Heathrow-Beijing flights to the new airport from October 27, helping it maximize a code-sharing agreement with China Southern.

China Eastern has kept its Beijing-Shanghai route at the old airport, which is closer to the central business district.

The next step will be for us to keep expanding new routes, said CAAC’s Yu. We’d like to see more foreign carriers operate in Daxing.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Chops Flights After Travel Ban

Singapore Airlines has warned that the coronavirus epidemic represents the “greatest challenge” it has ever faced as the flag carrier cut 96 per cent of its passenger flights in response to the crisis.

Late last night the island city-state took extreme steps to combat the spread of the disease by banning all inbound travellers.

In response, the airline will ground 138 out of its 147 planes – including the planes of subsidiary Silk Air – as well as 47 of budget carrier Scoot’s 49 planes.

Singapore is also taking additional steps to mitigate the financial impact of the crisis, including implementing salary cuts for staff and delaying new aircraft orders from suppliers.

It is also in discussion with various banks about extending its credit lines and securing further liquidity in the face of the ongoing disruption.

In a note released before the measures were implemented, brokerage UOB Kay Hian said that the carrier needed “backstop liquidity” of at least 5bn Singapore dollars (£3bn) by June.

In a statement, the airline said that it would “continue to aggressively pursue all measures to address the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the company”.

“It is unclear when the SIA Group can begin to resume normal services, given the uncertainty as to when the stringent border controls will be lifted,” it added.

Shares in the airline dropped nearly 11 per cent during the day’s trading.

The global financial capital has been one of the states to best tackle the coronavirus outbreak, only confirming its first two deaths from the illness this weekend, despite being one of the first countries outside of China to be afflicted.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, Singapore has only had 455 confirmed cases of the disease, considerably lower than many of its neighbours.

ingapore Airlines will almost grind its international flight network to a halt in light of the Singaporean Government’s ban on visitors and transit travellers, and similar bans in many countries to which it flies.

Between them, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir will ground 138 aircraft, out of a total fleet of 147 jets – leaving just nine aircraft flying – with low-cost subsidiary Scoot parking 47 of its 49 planes.

Until at least the end of April 2020 there will be flights to just five destinations – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Jakarta and Brunei – representing a staggering 96% capacity reduction.

"The resultant collapse in the demand for air travel has led to a significant decline in SIA’s passenger revenues," the airline said in a statement.

"It is unclear when the SIA Group can begin to resume normal services, given the uncertainty as to when the stringent border controls will be lifted."

Many of Singapore Airlines' flights to Australia and other destinations were already slated to be wound back or cancelled from late March until at least the end of April, with these changes serving as a further reduction.

As Singapore is a city-state with no commercial domestic flights, the impacts of global travel restrictions on the airline will be significant.

In February 2020, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir ran up to 155 return flights per week between Australia and Singapore: plus, five return flights per week between Melbourne and Wellington.

Singapore Airlines cancellations: what to do if you're affected
Alternative travel options can be clarified once Singapore Airlines reveals which flights have been cancelled and which remain, with a standing policy that "affected customers will be notified and re-accommodated onto other flights."

The airlines' current waiver policy is to allow tickets to become open-dated, to change flights without fees, or retain the value of the ticket for future travel before 31 March 2021.

For urgent assistance within 72 hours of your flight, contact the reservations team at 13 10 11 from Australia or +65 6223 8888 from overseas if you booked directly with Singapore Airlines. If you booked through a travel agency, contact that agency.

If your travel isn't as imminent, then you can contact the team through an online form. As a last resort, if you can't get in touch and miss your flight departing between 16 to 31 March 2020, all no-show fees will be waived when you rebook or change your ticket to open-dated.

You can keep track of Singapore Airlines' latest advisories, including new flight cancellations and ticket waiver policies, on its website.

NETHERLANDS: Tourists Stuck In Various Countries As Countries Shutdown

The some 200 thousand Dutch tourists stuck abroad are running out of time and possibilities to get home as more and more countries close their borders and global air traffic gets closer to being shut down.

Some 150 thousand people are at risk of getting stranded for a long time, travel agencies and airlines say.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to bring as many stranded tourists home as possible, Minister Stef Blok of Foreign Affairs said.

But it involves hundreds of thousands of people, and that takes time, he said. One of the very concrete things we do is ask for extra landing possibilities, so that as many as possible planes with Dutch can fly back and forth.

Many countries are keeping their airspace closed, meaning that repatriation flights need to require special permission from the authorities.

The Ministry is currently trying to keep the airspace at the borders of South European and North African countries open.

Around 30 thousand Dutch people were stuck there, half of whom were brought home during the week, the association of travel agencies ANVR said.

Airlines are flying extra flights to bring tourists back. This is the only type of flight Transavia is currently still performing. The airline performed 36 such flights over the past days.

TUI and Corendon are also deploying additional planes. KLM is focused on popular holiday destinations, according to the newspaper.

One such KLM flight was prevented from landing in Ecuador on Wednesday evening. The plane had picked up 185 travelers in Quito, and was scheduled to pick up another 164 in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city.

But when the plane approached, it was told it could not land. The runway was occupied by a worried mayor and a group of people.

The mayor thought the plane was bringing tourists from Europe who may be infected with the coronavirus.

This while we only had travellers on board who had to go to Europe. We were therefore unable to pick up the 164 travellers in Guayaquil. The plane flew directly to Amsterdam. KLM will again try to pick up travellers in Ecuador on Friday.

An estimated 100 thousand Dutch people are in distant locations around the world, according to the newspaper. Travellers in Asia, Australia and Africa can still try to fly home through the Gulf States, where air traffic has not been completely halted yet.

KLM is also planning repatriation flights to Peru, India, Colombia, Costa Rica and the Philippines in the coming days.

The outbreak of coronavirus Covid-19 means that tourism from China to the Netherlands will decrease even more than previous estimations, according to the Netherlands' office for tourism and congresses NBTC.

Last month the agency said that the number of Chinese tourists visiting the Netherlands would decrease from around 380 thousand last year to 300 thousand this year. Now NBTC expects the decrease to be even stronger, NOS reports.

The Covid-19 outbreak resulted in travel restrictions and measures from the market. Airlines like KLM are no longer flying to China.

Every month that air traffic to and from China is halted, the European tourism sector misses out on 1 billion euros, the European Commission calculated this week. According to ING, the Dutch tourism sector misses out on around 40 million euros a month.

While that is a lot, it is not massive compared to the total amount of tourism spending in the Netherlands, at 13.5 billion euros, Thijs Geijer of ING said to NOS.

Around two percent of the total hotel stays booked by foreign tourists in the Netherlands are booked by people from China. That is really only a small share, he said.

While entrepreneurs from other sectors may eventually be harder hit by the virus, its effect on the tourism sector is immediately noticeable, Geijer said.

Travel agencies are already noticing that Dutch people are delaying vacation plans.

NETHERLANDS: China Airlines Support KLM

KLM works with three Chinese airline partners: China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines. These partners have now stepped in to generously support KLM and the Netherlands by donating many tens of thousands of face masks and gloves to KLM in our struggle against the coronavirus outbreak.

In light of scarce resources at Dutch hospitals, KLM will in turn be helping the Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and other Dutch healthcare institutes.

Today, in the early hours of the morning, the first shipment arrived at Schiphol carried by one of Xiamen Airlines' aircraft.

On behalf of the employees of the three Chinese airlines, KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers accepted this first shipment of in total around 90,000 face masks and 50,000 pairs of gloves.

KLM's CEO was accompanied by Ernst Kuipers, Chairman of the Boards of Erasmus MC and the Dutch Network for Acute Medical Care (Landelijk Netwerk Acute Zorg -- LNAZ), and Brinio Veldhuijzen van Zanten of KLM Health Services.

Over the past 20 years, KLM has established a broad-based route network, coupled with especially close relations in China.

Before the outbreak of the corona crisis, KLM and its partners operated 59 flights a week from Schiphol to mainland China. Shipments of this nature serve to underscore the enormous significance of connections by air in general, and those with China in particular.

Medical supplies like this can only be transported swiftly and efficiently to the other side of the world by aircraft. This is especially important in times of scarcity and interdependence.

KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers highlighted that: "Help of this nature from our Chinese partners China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines and Xiamen Airlines is both incredibly generous and much appreciated.

Help like this from our Chinese friends serves to highlight just how close the ties are between China, the Netherlands and KLM. These are incredibly difficult times for our country and our company, so we are very pleased with this support for KLM and for the Netherlands.

Less than two months ago, we at KLM made a donation to China and now we have received fantastic and generous help ourselves. This certainly feels good."

On behalf of all Dutch healthcare institutes, LNAZ is coordinating the stocks of personal protective gear for healthcare workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ernst Kuipers, CEO Erasmus MC thanked KLM and said, "This donation will help all Dutch healthcare institutes at a critical phase of caring for patients across the Netherlands. We are also incredibly grateful to KLM's Chinese partners for this."

KLM will be flying from Hong Kong to Amsterdam at 1:35 p.m. on Tuesday, local time. The airline has been granted an exemption from the Dutch aviation authorities for the landing ban that applies to flights from the Chinese city, the Consulate General in Hong Kong announced.

Dutch and residents of other EU or Schengen countries stuck in Hong Kong are advised to contact the Dutch airline.

KLM is flying two final flights from Seoul, South Korea this week. The first will be on Tuesday, the second on Thursday, and both flights may be booked on KLM's website.

Cabin crew members of various airlines are deeply concerned about the risks of flying, especially on repatriating flights filled with passengers. "People are afraid," Chris van Elswijk of the Dutch Cabin Crew Association said to Hart van Nederland. "People are concerned about the distance and contact moments with passengers."

According to Van Elswijk, who is a purser for KLM, cabin crew members are trying to stick to the government guidelines of staying 1.5 meters from others, but that is not always possible. "If you work in a full aircraft with 300 passengers, you cannot meet the guidelines that are set," he said.

Airlines are working on measures to increase the safety of passengers and crew, he said. KLM, for example, adjusted the onboard service schedule so that there is less physical- or close range contact between passengers and crew.

And if crew members do not want to fly on a certain flight, their employers are open to discuss their concerns and alternatives, he said.

Because halting all air traffic is not yet an option, Van Elswijk said to Hart van Nederland. There are still many Dutch people abroad. They still have to be picked up.

Meanwhile, the first batch of Rwandans who were stranded abroad amid the novel coronavirus outbreak arrived in Rwanda Sunday, thanks to the Government’s partnership with Dutch airline KLM.

Most governments placed their countries into lockdown with no flights allowed to fly in as a measure to contain Covid-19, which left many people stranded in other countries, including Rwandans.

Rwanda itself put a stop to passenger planes and only emergence landings and cargo transporters are allowed into the country.

Rwandan nationals especially students who study abroad and other diaspora communities had expressed concern recently after failing to find a way to come back home.

The Government had promised that it was working out an alternative to rescue nationals and legal residents who were facing travel difficulties as a result of restrictions imposed by different countries.

“It’s true there is an arrangement between the Government of Rwanda and KLM! The 1st flight was yesterday, another departed today!” Jean Pierre Karabaranga, Rwanda’s Ambassador to The Hague said.

Karabaranga added that the last flight is expected Wednesday 25.

The Ambassador indicated that they have been spreading information regarding the arrangement by informing the diaspora members.

The Minister in charge of East African Community at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Olivier Nduhungirehe, said this follows a conversation with ambassadors to facilitate all Rwandans abroad.

We had a video call with all ambassadors on Friday and they are facilitating everyone who wants to come back to Rwanda to be able to get here, he noted.

Rwanda has so far registered 19 Covid-19 cases as of Sunday, according to the Ministry of Health.