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Indian airline Vistara has announced that it will operate non-stop flights between Mumbai and London Heathrow from 16 January; the airline will operate the flights three times a week – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays - complementing its recently-launched service between Delhi and London Heathrow. The departures are part of a ‘transport bubble’ agreement between India and the UK and will be operated on Vistara’s brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

The country's government has issued a statement declaring that from today, 1 December, the arrival of some persons across all border crossing points of the Republic of Croatia, including tourists, will be temporarily prohibited; this includes some foreigners with tourist visas, who will reportedly not be able to enter. There are though exceptions to this notice, including passengers coming directly from the countries or regions of the European Union, or member states of the Schengen Area and Schengen Associated Countries which are currently in the 'green' list of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The governments of Hong Kong and Singapore have agreed to push back a reciprocal travel bubble agreement until 2021, with the former trying to contain a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. Hong Kong's Commerce and Economic Development Bureau said the travel bubble would be reviewed in 'late December' for a possible start in early 2021, and allow quarantine-free travel between the two destinations. The travel bubble was previously temporarily postponed last month, just a day before it was due to begin.

The government of the state of Western Australia (WA) have announced that its border will re-open to arrivals from Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) in a week's time on 8 December, allowing travellers from those states to spend a quarantine-free Christmas in the west of the country. The latest advice from WA's chief health officer has classified the risk of COVID-19 from the two states as very low risk, removing the requirement for travellers to spend 14 days in mandatory quarantine. The decision is dependent on there being no outbreaks in New South Wales or Victoria before 8 December.

From today, 1 December, a new law mandating the use of facemasks went into effect within the country, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19. The law states that masks must be worn in public buildings such as schools, supermarkets and restaurants for at least the next three months.

The country's government has announced that it is removing the cost of COVID-19 PCR testing upon arrival, providing it free of charge for a temporary period. From 1 December 2020 until 31 January 2021, passengers will no longer have to pay out of pocket for the PCR test upon arrival. There are no changes to entry requirements, which include entry only for countries within the European Union and a small handful of third-party nations – Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Rwanda, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

The country’s government announced yesterday, 30 November, that it will impose a weekday curfew as well as a full weekend lockdown, in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. Citizens will not be permitted to leave home between 21.00 and 05.00 (local time) on weekdays, and not at all at weekends. The weekend curfew will begin from this Friday 4 December.

The country's government has said that from today, 1 December, land border posts have been opened to private motorists and pedestrians, providing arrivals are able to present a negative COVID-19 test certificate obtained a maximum of 48 hours prior to arrival; they must also not show any visible symptoms of the virus. Zimbabwe has five major border posts at Beitbridge, Plumtree, Chirundu, Victoria Falls and Forbes; the highest attention will be on Beitbridge, which carries the bulk of the vehicle and human traffic.

The country’s government is set to allow many businesses to re-open from 3 December as COVID-19 infections ease, including restaurants and non-essential retail. The Czech Republic will move down to level ‘three’ of it’s five-level risk scale, also meaning that a nighttime curfew will be lifted, but some hospitality venues must still close by 22.00 (local time) each evening.

Etihad Airways has announced that it will begin flying to Beijing from its base in Abu Dhabi from 7 December, on a weekly service operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline resumed services between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai in late July this year; with the second weekly flight soon to be added to Etihad’s global network, the airline becomes the only carrier in the MENA region operating non-stop passenger flights departing from both Shanghai and Beijing.

The country’s government has said that it will allow shops to re-open from tomorrow, 1 December, however most other COVID-19 curbs are due to be kept in place over the festive period to limit an increase in infections. Limits on shopping will be imposed, including a requirement to shop alone for no more than 30 minutes; museums and swimming pools can re-open, however bars, restaurants, sports and cultural centres are among those which must remain closed.

A 24-hour strike is planned by employees of London Heathrow Airport represented by trade union Unite tomorrow, 1 December, with further action proposed again on 14, 17 and 18 December unless a dispute over pay is resolved. The strike action will involve firefighters, engineers, campus security, baggage operations, central terminal operations, landside and airside workers. While the union says has concerns about the safe operation of Heathrow during the strike, the airport says it has contingency plans in place and expects operations to run smoothly. Passengers should anticipate any delays to services by regularly checking the status of their flight, and allowing additional time to pass through security.

The government of Ireland has said that from tomorrow, 1 December, many businesses will be permitted to re-open including shops, restaurants, pubs and gyms; the loosening restrictions follow a fall in COVID-19 cases credited, as the result of the country being one of the first in Europe to re-impose strict measures for a second time, around six weeks ago. Travel between counties is also expected to resume from 18 December.

The country’s government today, 29 November, eased COVID-19 restrictions in five regions including its wealthiest and most populous, Lombardy; Piedmont and Calabria have also joined it in being downgraded from ‘red’ to ‘orange’, and both Sicily and Liguria have dropped from ‘orange’ to ‘yellow’. Whereas 'red' zone residents are only allowed to leave their homes for work, health reasons or emergencies - in the 'orange' zone, people can move freely within their towns and cities, but cannot travel elsewhere.

The federal government of Canada has extended existing international travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, barring entry to most travellers who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents or people entering from the U.S. for "essential" reasons. In a news release issued on 29 November, it was announced that travel restrictions on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals seeking to enter Canada from the U.S. will be extended until 21 December. Similarly, restrictions on travellers arriving from other countries will be extended until 21 January, as will the mandatory requirement for anyone who is granted entry to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.

The UK's Newcastle International Airport has announced that it is working with testing providers to offer quick and efficient COVID-19 PCR tests to departing passengers. Tests cost £99 and are now available to book, with a start date of Tuesday, 1 December. Passengers will receive results within two days, and the testing area will be based in the Premium Meet and Greet car park building, with free on-site parking available.

The government of the U.S. state of Hawaii granted the island of Kauai approval to temporarily opt-out of the Hawaii's pre-arrival COVID-19 testing program, which essentially will now stop all non-essential travel to Kauai; the decision is effective from 00.01 (local time) on 2 December and means that all trans-Pacific and inter-island travellers arriving in Kauai are subject to a 14-day quarantine regardless of test results.

The UK government has announced that from 04.00 (GMT) on Saturday 28 November, anyone arriving or returning from Estonia or Latvia to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland will be required to self-isolate for two weeks. However, anyone arriving or returning to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland from the following countries will not be required to self-isolate, as the nations have been granted a travel corridor: Bhutan, Timor-Leste, Mongolia, Aruba and the Pacific Islands of Samoa, Kiribati, Micronesia, Tonga, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. In addition, the UK government have removed an all-out ban on arrivals from Denmark, which was imposed following concerns over a COVID-19 outbreak in the country's mink population; arrivals from Denmark will, however, still be required to self-isolate for two weeks.

The airline has announced that from 9 December it will trial free of charge, rapid lateral flow COVID-19 antigen tests on flights from London Heathrow to Barbados, including onward connections to Antigua and Grenada. The testing will be delivered at a Terminal 2 departure facility at Heathrow, and Virgin hopes that it will further demonstrate the deliverability of a pre-departure COVID-19 testing regime at scale.

Effective from 29 November, the country's government is set to shorten its blanket 14-day COVID-19 quarantine for international arrivals to just five days with post-arrival PCR testing undertaken on the fifth day of isolation. All arrivals from this date have the option of participating in the new initiative or undertaking a full 14-day self-isolation without testing. In addition, arrivals from EU nations classified as ‘orange’ level of risk can bring a negative COVID-19 PCR test result, obtained no longer than 72 hours prior to arrival, to circumvent the quarantine altogether. The tests will likely be $100-$200 USD in price, and are expected to have the option of being taken at passengers' homes or hotel while they are observing quarantine.