Showing posts with label poland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poland. Show all posts

Wednesday, 26 December 2018

POLAND: Wrocław A Cultural City Is New KLM Destination

From 6 May 2019, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will expand its network to include the Polish city of Wrocław. The service will be operated with an Embraer 175, which has a maximum capacity of 88 passengers. This lively university city will be KLM's fourth destination in Poland.

Wrocław lies in the west of Poland and has much to offer travellers. In 2016 it was Cultural Capital of Europe.

The addition of Wrocław to our network strengthens KLM's position as an important player in the central European market. Wrocław is also a new destination for Mainport Schiphol and thereby an expansion of Schiphol's network.

The city of Wrocław has a population of more than 600,000 and is Poland's fourth largest city. Wrocław is KLM's fourth destination in Poland after Warsaw, Krakow, and Gdansk.

Air France began operating a service to Wrocław's Copernicus Airport this summer. Wrocław is a lively university city where trade and industry flourish. It has a beautiful old market square, which is lined by pastel-coloured buildings housing cafes and restaurants.

KLM will operate a daily service from Schiphol to Wrocław using Embraer 175 equipment. This aircraft has 20 business class seats, an Economy Comfort zone with 8 seats, and 60 Economy Class seats.

- KL1271 departs Amsterdam Schiphol at 11.50 hours and arrives at Copernicus Airport Wrocław at 13.35 hours.

- KL1272 departs Wrocław at 14:05 hours and arrives at Schiphol at 15.55 hours.


Tourism Observer

Saturday, 8 September 2018

POLAND: LOT Polish Airlines Announced Warsaw To Miami Nonstop Flights From June 1, 2019

LOT Polish Airlines has announced the launch of Miami-Warsaw nonstop passenger service scheduled for June 1, 2019, giving Miami International Airport the only nonstop route between Florida and Eastern Europe, as well as the airport’s first-ever service to Poland.

Warsaw will further expand Miami International Airport’s current network of twenty European destinations, while Miami will join LOT’s five other nonstop destinations in North America.

LOT Polish Airlines is an exciting addition to MIA’s growing roster of international carriers, said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez.

This new connection to Eastern Europe will go a long way toward expanding MIA’s role as a true global gateway.

LOT will operate four weekly flights with new generation Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft that seat 252 passengers.

LOT’s hub operation at Warsaw Chopin Airport provides passengers more than 350 daily flights to 100 destinations worldwide, as well as extensive connections throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Miami is currently one of the largest markets in the U.S so far not served by LOT, said Rafał Milczarski, LOT Chief Executive Officer.

It is the first such convenient connection between Central and Eastern Europe and Florida with almost half a million passengers per year traveling between the two regions.

Thanks to our broad network of connections and the most convenient transfers offered via the hub in Warsaw, I am sure that many passengers from Miami will take advantage of our latest offer and fly on our board to Budapest, Prague, Kiev or Tel-aviv.

LOT, which launched operations in 1928, is considered one of the fastest-growing airlines in Europe today, with seven million passengers onboard each year.

LOT’s fleet of 73 aircraft is also one of the youngest and most modern in Europe.

We eagerly look forward to welcoming LOT Polish Airlines’ Warsaw service next summer, said Miami-Dade Aviation Director Lester Sola.

We are proud to be their first destination in Florida and to be part of their ongoing expansion into North America.


Tourism Observer

Wednesday, 4 April 2018

UNITED KINGDOM: Rossiya Airbus Wheel Traps Worker's Foot

Rossiya Airbus A319-100, performing flight from London Gatwick to Saint Petersburg, was being pushed back for departure when the aircraft was stopped.

Emergency services staff responded to attend to a ground worker, who became trapped with his foot under one of the aircraft’s wheels.

Emergency services released the man and airlifted the ground worker with serious injuries to a hospital.

The aircraft was subsequently returned to the gate, the passengers disembarked.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Gatwick about 6 hours later.

The airport reported an incident took place in which a ground worker received injuries.

Meanwhile, LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 787-800, performing flight from Mexico to Poland, was enroute over the Atlantic Ocean when the crew needed to shut one of the engines down.

The aircraft diverted to New York JFK and landed safely on New York’s runway 04L about 2:15 hours later.

The crew advised no further assistance was needed and taxied to the apron.

A replacement Boeing 787-800 registration SP-LRB departed about 3 hours after landing of SP-LRF and reached Warsaw with a delay of about 5 hours.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in New York about 91 hours after landing.



Tourism Observer

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

CHINA: Central And Eastern Europe Tourism Exchange Week Event In Ningbo

The official Central And Eastern Europe Tourism Exchange Week will open today, June 7th 2017 in the coastal city of Ningbo.

The event is organized by Ningbo Tourism Administration.

The Central and Eastern Europe exchange is the third Chinese Investment and Trade Expo of its type. Central and Eastern European tourism exchange week is the Chinese government directive to expand mutual cooperation and development in the region.

The exchange week welcomes official representatives from the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Benin and Romania.

Ningbo is a beautiful coastal city on the East China Sea. It has advanced transportation infrastructure, a developed information & technology industry, and over two thousand years of Chinese history and culture.

Ningbo is a thriving social and business environment, representing modern China's many decades of development, urban management and the unprecedented growth of industry.

Ningbo is an ideal window into understanding the development of China. To host the third China International Investment and Trade Expo at this week's exchange is of great importance to the city of Ningbo.

The representatives and their nation states have expressed their willingness to cooperate fully under the mutually beneficial framework of "One Belt One Road" cooperation.

The framework will aim to increase quantities of Chinese tourists traveling to the participating country within this year. The "One Belt One Road" agreement plans a new era of Chinese tourism and prosperity for all participating countries.

Saturday, 20 May 2017

POLAND: Visegrad Four Promoting Tourism In Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland And Slovakia

Promoting travel and tourism and sharing benefits between the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia is very much part of the Visegrad Group also known as the “Visegrad Four” or simply “V4” They reflect the efforts of the countries of the Central European region to work together in a number of fields of common interest within the all-European integration.

Member countries had always been part of a single civilization sharing cultural and intellectual values and common roots in diverse religious traditions, which they wish to preserve and further strengthen.

All the V4 countries aspired to become members of the European Union, perceiving their integration in the EU as another step forward in the process of overcoming artificial dividing lines in Europe through mutual support. They reached this aim in 2004 (1st May) when they all became members of the EU.

Poland currently is holding the presidency of the Group and hosted a high-level meeting to address the opportunities and issues in sharing tourism.

“For Chinese tourists traveling to Europe, Kraków, Prague or Budapest are very similar, popular destinations. The question is how to package a good tourist product for them, ” said Dawid Lasek from the Polish Sport and Tourism Ministry.

The V4 was not created as an alternative to the all-European integration efforts, nor does it try to compete with the existing functional Central European structures. Its activities are in no way aimed at isolation or the weakening of ties with the other countries.

On the contrary the Group aims at encouraging optimum cooperation with all countries, in particular its neighbours, its ultimate interest being the democratic development in all parts of Europe.

The Visegrad Group wishes to contribute towards building the European security architecture based on effective, functionally complementary and mutually reinforcing cooperation and coordination within existing European and transatlantic institutions.

In order to preserve and promote cultural cohesion, cooperation within the Visegrad Group will enhance the imparting of values in the field of culture, education, science and exchange of information.

All the activities of the Visegrad Group are aimed at strengthening stability in the Central European region. The participating countries perceive their cooperation as a challenge and its success as the best proof of their ability to integrate also into such structures, such as the European Union.

Meanwhile, Following an impressive month of 15% growth in passenger traffic in November, Budapest Airport has today welcomed its 11 millionth passenger this year, the first time this milestone has been reached in the airport’s 66-year history.

Setting a new record for annual passengers for a third year running, the Hungarian gateway has experienced an average 10% growth in passenger traffic, establishing Budapest as one of the fastest growing tourism markets in Europe at this time.

Heightened by the addition of 16 new destinations this year, along with 14 airlines significantly increasing frequency to essential hubs such as Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Doha, the airport has connected to more than 100 scheduled destinations throughout the year.

Today’s achievement was celebrated with airberlin, with the oneworld alliance airline carrying Budapest’s 11 millionth passenger from Budapest to Berlin Tegel – a route which has also seen a frequency increase this year with the addition of a third daily flight.

Last year we experienced remarkable passenger traffic growth and to watch the robust development continue into 2016 is a rewarding time for us all, said Kam Jandu, CCO, Budapest Airport. He added: We approached this year with a strategy to do all we could to ensure Budapest, and Hungary, remain an attractive and competitive market, and I believe we’ve not only succeeded in this goal but also ensured the demands of our passengers, as well as our business partners, have been met.

To ensure the Hungarian gateway is ready to meet further demand, the airport will invest approximately €180 million into its infrastructure over the next three years. The investment will see a number of developments including a new airport hotel, check-in area extension, a new Pier B, and a new Terminal C cargo facility.

Expecting to welcome 11.3 million passengers overall by the end of December, Budapest will have delivered an impressive 22% growth from 2014 to this year-end, a record-breaking expansion in Central and Eastern Europe.

Friday, 10 March 2017

EUROPE: European Parliament Wants U.S. Citizens To Apply For Visas Before Traveling To Europe

The European Parliament wants U.S. citizens to have to apply for visas before traveling to Europe this summer.

The issue has developed due to an ongoing dispute over U.S. treatment of citizens from Eastern European countries such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, who are part of the EU but who are not allowed visa-free travel to the U.S. through the visa-waiver program.

The European Parliament is pressuring the EU executive to force Americans to apply for visas in retaliation.

Forcing Americans to obtain visas would definitely put a dent in Europe’s tourism industry especially during the busy summer season, which is why the European Commission says it is pursuing a resolution through diplomatic channels.

On June 15, EU Commission officials will meet with the U.S. to discuss the issue.

"We will report on further progress made before the end of June and continue to work closely with both the European Parliament and the Council," a Commission spokeswoman said, referring to the council which groups the governments of the 28 EU member states.

In the meantime, negotiations are taking place to resolve the issue, allowing for full “visa reciprocity,” an official said.

While European lawmakers voted with a show of hands to impose restrictive measures on American travelers, they have little power.

Saturday, 4 March 2017

European Parliament Votes To Discontinue Visa Free Travel For Americans

European Parliament has voted to end visa-free travel for Americans within the EU.

It comes after the US failed to agree visa-free travel for citizens of five EU countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania – as part of a reciprocity agreement. US citizens can normally travel to all countries in the bloc without a visa.

The vote urges the revocation of the scheme within two months, meaning Americans will have to apply for extra documents for 12 months after the European Commission implements a “delegated act” to bring the change into effect.

The Commission discovered three years ago that the US was not meeting its obligations under the reciprocity agreement but has not yet taken any legal action. The latest vote, prepared by the civil liberties committee and approved by a plenary session of parliament, gives the Commission two months to act before MEPs can consider action in the European Court of Justice.

Australia, Brunei, Japan and Canada were also failing in their obligations, but all four have lifted, or are soon to lift, any visa restrictions on travel for EU citizens.

The Commission is legally obliged to act to suspend the visa waiver for Americans, but the European Parliament or the Council of the European Union have the chance to object to the “delegated act” it uses to do so.

In December, MEPs pressed for the move in order to “encourage” Washington to play its part, according to a statement by the parliament.

But Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos warned of “consequences”, including potential “retaliation” and a drop in visitor numbers precipitating substantial losses for the continent’s tourism industry.

Just days ago the Council said it would liberalise the visa regime for citizens of Georgia travelling into the EU.

Georgians can now, subject to final approval of the regulation, stay in any EU country for 90 days in any period of 180 days without needing a visa.

Carmelo Abela, Malta’s minister for national security, said: “This agreement will bring the people of Georgia and the EU closer together and will strengthen tourism and business ties. It follows the completion of the necessary reforms by Georgia, addressing document security, border management, migration and asylum.”

Last month it was reported that the EU was considering the adoption of a US-style electronic travel permit scheme – a move that could create a new administrative hurdle for British tourists after Brexit.

Immigration minister Robert Goodwill told Parliament the EU was discussing the possibility of introducing a version of America’s Electronic System for Travel Authorisation (ESTA).

Currently foreign travellers must pay a fee of $14 (£11) when they complete ESTA, an automated online system that determines their eligibility to travel to the US.

“British people are now used to the US ESTA scheme and, therefore, we view with interest how the European scheme might develop and what similarities, and differences, there may be to the US scheme,” Mr Goodwill said.

“This type of scheme is generally there to help enhance security. To get to know as much as possible about the people who are intending to travel.

“It isn’t just flights, it could be people using ferries, or other border crossings into the European Union.”

Alan Brown, an SNP member of the European Scrutiny Committee, pointed out that Leave advocates in the referendum campaign had said there would be no need for visa-like travel schemes after Brexit.

Tuesday, 15 November 2016

UAE: Etihad Airways Looking For Pilots In Europe To Fly Airbus And Boeing Fleets

Etihad Airways has embarked on a major recruitment drive to hire additional crew, as it fleet expands.

The UAE’s national carrier said it is looking for pilots in Europe to join both its Airbus and Boeing fleets, with new aircraft expected to arrive between this year and 2025. The main focus of the talent search is to fill posts for First Officers.

Recruiters for the airline were scheduled to be in Europe on Sunday, November 13. They started in Romania and were expected to be in Bulgaria today, Tuesday. They will then make stops in Hungary, Lithuania, Greece, Poland, Belgium and Portugal.

Etihad had earlier announced it would freeze the hiring of non-operational staff, as currency fluctuations, economic uncertainty and market competition are putting pressure on yields. Recruitment of pilots, cabin crew and engineers, however, will continue.

The airline has a range of aircraft including Airbus 330s, 380s, Boeing 777s and B787s, and expects new A380 deliveries next year.

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

EGYPT: Nesma Airlines

Nesma Airlines, a member of Saudi Arabia’s Nesma Group, is a flag carrier of two countries: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arabic Republic of Egypt.

Nesma Airlines first commercial flight was on 18 July 2010 from Hurghada to Ljubljana and the airline currently operates charter flights linking Egypt's most popular tourist spots to Europe and the Middle East mainly to Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Italy,Spain, Poland and France.

And to continue its success in the charter market, the airline started to operate scheduled flights to Saudi Arabia on the 24th of June 2011 to Hail, Tabuk and Taif.

On October 27, 2016, the airline launched domestic flight services within Saudi Arabia. Flights will operate out of the central hub at Hail Regional Airport to various locations in the Kingdom which currently includes Tabuk and Qaisumah. All flights will be flown on board the airline's ATR 72-600 aircraft.

Nesma Airline's scheduled flights include:-

Egypt
Cairo – Cairo International Airport
Alexandria – Borg El Arab Airport
Asyut – Assiut Airport

Saudi Arabia
Abha – Abha Regional Airport
Yanbu – Yanbu Airport
Buraidah – Qassim Airport
Ta'if – Ta’if Regional Airport
Tabuk – Tabuk Regional Airport
Jeddah – Jeddah Airport
Ha'il – Hail Airport
Jizan - Jizan Regional Airport
Ha'il – Hail Airport
Qaisumah - Al Qaisumah/Hafr Al Batin Airport
Tabuk – Tabuk Regional Airport

However the majority of the airline's current operations center around charter flights from Egyptian resorts to the following European countries:
- Armenia
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
- France
- Germany
- Italy
- Macedonia
- Poland
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Serbia
- Ireland
- United Kingdom

Nesma Airlines fleet consists of the 6 aircraft.
1 Airbus A319-100
3 Airbus A320-200
2 ATR 72-600

Thursday, 25 February 2016

TANZANIA: Ukrainian Tourists Head For Zanzibar

CHARTER flights from abroad, transporting tourists to Zanzibar, are expected to increase after Ukraine announced the launch of direct flights to the islands beginning tomorrow (Friday).

Officers from the Ministry of Tourism, and the ‘Zanzibar Commission for Tourism (ZCT)’ said at a press conference held here that the First charter flight with about 180 tourists on board, is expected to land on ‘Abeid Amani Karume International Airport (AAKIA).’

“This will be the first group of tourists from Ukraine. Therefore we have organised a special reception, which include traditional dances, to welcome the tourists expected to stay in Zanzibar for nine days,” Mr Issa Mlingoti- deputy Principal Secretary (PS) informed journalists.

He thanked the ‘Travelling Professional Group (TPG)’ of Ukraine, and the local company ‘Zanzibar Tours & Travellers (ZTT)’ for initiating the new charter flight, an addition to other direct flights from Italy and Germany.

Flanked by the ZCT executive director Mr Saleh Feruzi, ZCT Chairman Dr Ahmada Khatib, and ZCT Marketing director Dr Miraji Ussi, the PS said having tourists from emerging tourists market such as Ukraine and other Asian countries was the focus of the government.

“We have been recording an increase of tourists from Israel, China, Russia, India, and Poland. Let us (citizens) maintain peace and stability even when in political disputes. Tourists come to destinations where there is peace,” Mr Mligonti emphasized.

Mr Feruzi said, so far there is no link between the current political disputes and tourists arrivals as no cancellation has been recorded due to the ‘impasse.’ “There was a drop in arrivals last year (2015), but it was because of inaccurate data recording in the previous year (2014), mainly double entry,” he said.

He said ZCT recorded 181,301 tourists in 2013 followed by 311,881 in 2014 which was an error, and last year the number of tourists who visited Zanzibar was 294,245.

But also, Mr Feruz said, terror threats, in East African region and Ebola in West Africa might have caused tourists to cancel their flights to Zanzibar or Africa.

Wednesday, 3 February 2016

POLAND: Ukrainian Migrants Attacked For ‘Disrespecting’ Polish Women

Local residents have attacked Ukrainian migrants in the Polish county of Lodz, according to Poland’s news channel TVN24.

A group of Polish men stormed a dormitory house, occupied by about 120 Ukrainian labor migrants. Walls outside of the building were painted with offensive slogans, the least offensive of which is "Poland is for Poles," the source said.

Anti-migrant graffiti and ethnic slurs, however, aren't the worst thing that Ukrainian migrants have faced in Poland. On January 17, seven local residents broke into the dormitory and started beating Ukrainian migrants living there, the Polish TV channel reported.

The attackers were armed with batons and knuckledusters. As a result of violence, several people were hospitalized.

When Polish police arrested six men, they said the motive of their attack was the disrespectful behavior of Ukrainian migrants towards local women.
The men involved in the attack now face up to five years in prison on charges of ethnically-motivated hate crimes, TVN24 said.

According to Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo, the country has accepter over a million Ukrainian migrants over the past year. The number of Ukrainians has almost doubled over the past six months, as in May 2015, the think-tank Center for Eastern Studies (OSW) estimated there were around 400,000 migrants.


Friday, 11 December 2015

POLAND: Wizz Air Will Fly From Wroclaw To Birmingham

Wizz Air today announced a new route from Wroclaw to Birmingham. The route will commence on 18 March and will be operated with two weekly flights, on Mondays and Fridays.

With the new service, WIZZ is now offering seven routes to five countries from Wroclaw.

Gabor Vasarhelyi, Communications Manager at Wizz Air said: ”We are thrilled to announce the third UK route for our Wroclaw network. Birmingham is now available on our low fares from our Polish base allowing business and leisure travelers to explore the West Midlands from only PLN 79.

Stimulating air travel between Poland and the United Kingdom, we hope tourism and hospitality sectors will benefit from our newest service, as well as strengthen business relations between the two countries. We urge our customers to book the lowest fares quickly on wizzair.com!”

Friday, 4 December 2015

Wizz Air Adds Bratislava And Copenhagen To Its Network

The latest expansion and the flights to two new European capitals will increase the Wizz Air network to 116 airports across 38 countries as it continues its rapid growth. Its departure capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 64.4 per cent between 2005 and 2104 from just over 2.5 million seats to almost 17.5 million last year. This year capacity will grow by an estimated 24.0 per cent to over 21.5 million departure seats.

Central and Eastern European low-cost airline specialist, Wizz Air is to add two new European capital cities to its network as it expands its route network from Macedonia with three new routes from Skopje’s Alexander The Great Airport.

The carrier will launch its first flights to Bratislava, Slovakia and Copenhagen, Denmark, as well launch a new route to Berlin Schoenefeld as it reinforces its position as Skopje’s principal carrier and Macedonia’s de facto national carrier. All three routes will be operated on a twice weekly frequency with flights to Berlin commencing from March 21, 2016; Copenhagen from March 22, 2016 and Bratislava from March 28, 2016.

This will be the first scheduled route between Macedonia and Slovakia and will resurrect a link into Denmark that was last served by SAS Scandinavian Airlines over ten years ago in March 2005.

Wizz Air introduced operations in Macedonia in June 2011 with flights between Skopje and London Luton and is now offering a total of 24 routes to eleven countries from Skopje and Ohrid.

Elsewhere, Wizz Air has confirmed it will open a new base at Iasi International Airport, its sixth in Romania. The airline will station a single A320 in the largest city in eastern Romania to increase the number of routes served from Iasi to eight and will triple the seat capacity to 265,000 in 2016. The airline hopes this will stimulate the local job market in aviation and tourism sectors as consumers will have access to more low cost routes.

The new aircraft will facilitate the introduction of a three times weekly link to Bologna and twice weekly services to Catania, Larnaca, Rome Ciampino and Tel Aviv from the start of July 2016. It will also allow frequencies to Milan Bergamo to increase from two to three a week, adding to the significant growth of the Iasi – London Luton route which will grow from two to five weekly rotations from the end of March 2016.

Wizz Air first launched flights in Romania in 2007 and now offers a total of 106 Romanian routes to 16 countries from eight Romanian airports.

“We put Iasi on the map of aviation a year ago and it will now become the sixth Romanian airport where we establish base operations,” said György Abrán, Chief Commercial Officer, Wizz Air. “We have constantly expanded our operations in Romania, developed regional airports, and this announcement once again underlines our commitment to the country.”

The latest expansion and the flights to two new European capitals will increase the Wizz Air network to 116 airports across 38 countries as it continues its rapid growth. Its departure capacity has grown at an average annual rate of 64.4 per cent between 2005 and 2104 from just over 2.5 million seats to almost 17.5 million last year. This year capacity will grow by an estimated 24.0 per cent to over 21.5 million departure seats.

Analysis of OAG schedule data shows that the airline’s top five country markets – Poland, United Kingdom, Romania, Italy and Hungary – account for a 58.0 per cent share of its capacity offering.

Monday, 30 November 2015

GAMBIA: Season’s Maiden Polish Flight In Banjul


The airbus with the inscription Service Canaria Travel Boeing 737-800, which carried over 100 tourists onboard direct from Warsaw and landed at exactly 21:00hrs Friday night at the Banjul International Airport (BIA) in Yundum, was a maiden flight from the Eastern European nation of Poland for this 2015/2016 winter tourism season.

This adds to increasing tourists arrivals to Destination Gambia for this year’s winter season.

The Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MoTC) registered success on capturing the Eastern European nation market in 2013 when they received the maiden Polish tourists in November 1st with 240 tourists onboard to Destination Gambia.

Speaking on behalf of Abdoullah Hydara, the director general of GTBoard shortly after the arrival of the Polish tourists, Adama Cham, Statistics and Communication manager of GTBoard applauded Rainbow Tours – Poland and Alkamba Tours – Gambia for their relentless efforts in bringing the tourists to Destination Gambia.

He reiterated the positive step taken by the GTBoard to make Destination Gambia a tourism haven.

Kamil Juwa, the director of Operation, Rainbow Tours International, expressed delight over the season’s maiden flight from Poland. From now on and throughout the 2015/2016 winter tourism season, he announced, a tourist flight will come every week direct from Warsaw and with possibility of increasing in the future.

He thanked the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) for the welcome accorded the tourists on their arrival and affirmed that the tourists enjoyed and were happy on the sight of the cultural display at the BIA, organised by the GTBoard.

Kebba Drammeh, director of Operation, Alkamba Tours, thanked their partners, Rainbow Tours International on the arrival and as well the Gambia Tourism Board for the welcoming of the tourists to the destination.

He dilated more on the arrival of the season’s maiden Polish flight and the importance of the Eastern European nation market to Gambia.

Friday, 11 September 2015

More Refugees Will Invade Europe If Wars Don't Stop

Macedonia's Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki has said that his country might follow Hungary's example and build a border fence to stem the influx of refugees trekking through the Balkans to reach Western Europe.

The news comes as foreign ministers from four Central European nations are meeting in Prague on Friday, amid a growing rift over the refugee crisis.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia reject quotas proposed by the EU Commission, which proposed 120,000 additional asylum seekers per year to be shared out between 28 member states.

"We too will need some kind of physical defence to reduce illegal border crossing. Either soldiers or a fence or a combination of the two," Poposki was quoted as saying in an interview with Hungarian business weekly Figyelo on Thursday.

He said his country was currently forced to let the 3,000 to 4,000 migrants who arrive in his country on a daily basis continue their journey to Serbia and Hungary unimpeded.

"There is no European consensus on how we can handle this question," he said.

As of 0600 GMT on Friday, an estimated 7,600 refugees had already crossed into Macedonia from Greece in a 24-hour period, according to the UN refugee agency.

Peter Salama, UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said millions of people in Syria could become refugees and head to Europe if there is no end to the war.

Refugees from the border between Greece and Macedonia on Friday, said the situation has settled down after tensions.

At the border crossing station, from where our correspondent was reporting, about 1,500 had crossed on Friday morning. They are reportedly being organised into groups of 50 people.

From there, public transportation will then take them to the border with Serbia, our correspondent said.

But overnight, the situation was tense, with "impatient" refugees facing off with the police.

"Macedonian border police had blocked their path and frustrations grew once more," she said. "This is not the first time for the Macedonian border guards to use force."

Syrian refugees Bassem, his wife Marwa, and their child Ali, were among those in the crowd. They left Syria 25 days ago, entering Greece through the island of Rhodes.

Bassem and Marwa said that they feared Ali would not make the Mediterranean crossing.

"We know it's going to be difficult here, we know some don't want us, but it's still much better than Syria," Bassem said.

Along with neighbouring Serbia, Macedonia has become a major transit country for tens of thousands of refugees who trudge up from Greece, after risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea crammed into makeshift boats.

The majority are heading for Germany, which has pledged to welcome hundreds of thousands more refugees having already taken in 450,000 to date since January.

So far, more than 160,000 have already crossed through Macedonia on their way to Serbia and Hungary this year.

Last month, the small Balkan nation declared a state of emergency as it struggled to cope with the relentless stream of people.

Reports overnight said that Hungary's government is considering declaring a state of emergency within the next week.

Hungary completed a razor-wire barrier along its 175km border with Serbia in late August, but it has failed to stop distraught refugees from scaling the barrier.

The central European nation is building another fence four metres high that it aims to complete by late October or early November, and the government has said it will be manned by the military.

Some 85 percent of those hoping to eventually reach wealthy EU nations such as Germany or Sweden are not merely in search of a better life, but have been forced to leave because of wars in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, according to the UN's refugee agency.

Hungary to deploy army to stop refugees from crossing border, so the Hungarian government announced.

On Friday, the wife of an Austrian politician said Hungarian police have been feeding refugees "like animals in a pen" inside a border camp.

Michaela Spritzendorfer filmed the footage of the refugees surging forward against the fences surrounding them as officers toss food packets to them.

It reportedly happened at a makeshift camp in the Hungarian town of Rozke.The incident was filmed on the same day the UN commissioner on refugees said conditions were getting worse there.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has ordered his administration to increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the country.

The United States has taken in just 1,500 Syrians since the civil war began in 2011.