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The southern German region of Bavaria announced yesterday, 6 December, that it will impose tougher COVID-19 restrictions upon its residents from 9 December through to 5 January 2021. Anyone within the region will only be able to leave their homes for valid reasons such as work, to visit a doctor or for exercise; shops and schools, however, will remain open. The move follows the recent news that Bavaria has recorded the country's highest COVID-19 death toll.

The hotel group has announced a new COVID-19 ‘test and rest’ initiative at the Sofitel London Heathrow and Sofitel London Gatwick. From a cost of around £179 per person based on single occupancy, passengers receive a one-night stay plus a fully certified COVID-19 PCR saliva test; when the test is submitted to reception by 20.00, an overnight result is then received by the morning via a dedicated mobile app.

The airline has announced that it will be resuming flights from Manchester Airport for the first time since March. The first service is scheduled for tomorrow, 5 December, from Manchester to Barbados; services to Islamabad will be added next week, and U.S. services to destinations such as Los Angeles, Orlando, New York and Atlanta are expected in the coming months.

All major cruise lines in the U.S. have cancelled their sailings until at least March 2021, according to reports; statements from major cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian also confirm this. Royal Caribbean says all sailings, with the exception of those from Singapore and China, have been cancelled until at least that date.

The low-cost airline will set up a new base at Cardiff Airport, basing a single A321 aircraft to provide year-round services from the UK to Spanish destinations as well as seasonal services to Greek and Egyptian airports, including Sharm El Sheikh.

The UK government has released further guidelines today, 4 December, on an announcement made yesterday by the country's transport secretary; from 04.00 (local time) on 5 December, certain categories of business travellers, journalists, elite sportpersons, performing arts professionals and television production crew will be exempt from a mandatory 14-day self-isolation requirement on arrival in England, if arriving from a country not on the country's 'travel corridor' list. In the update released today, the eligible business traveller categories were revealed as primarily being for those of a 'director' level or above with activity in the UK related to creating or saving more than 50 UK jobs, or related to transactions of over £100 million (GBP). Meanwhile, from 15 December all passengers arriving in England from countries not featured on the government’s 'travel corridor' list will also have the option of taking a COVID-19 test after five days of self-isolation, with a negative result releasing them from the need to isolate for the full 14-day period.

The cruise line announced yesterday, 3 December, that it has cancelled its remaining sailings through to February 2021 due to concerns over COVID-19. The operator is also moving the inaugural U.S. sailing of its Mardi Gras ship to April 24, 2021.

The airline has announced that COVID-19 vaccination will be a mandatory travel requirement for international flights. Exceptions would likely be made only for New Zealanders, any other countries involved in additional COVID-safe ‘travel bubbles’, and passengers who qualify for a medical exemption. The announcement was made at a market update, with CEO Alan Joyce saying "once a safe and effective vaccine becomes readily available, it will be a requirement for travel on our international services."

The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has published updated entry requirements for the British Virgin Islands, which are applicable for arrivals of all nationalities, as well as residents. Effective already from 1 December, included is the requirement to gain pre-approval for entry, undergo pre-testing as well as follow-up testing, the requirement to wear a tracking bracelet and a charge of 175 USD per passenger.

The airport group has partnered with a COVID-19 testing provider to open testing facilities at the UK's Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports; a full range of PCR, LAMP, rapid antigen and antibody tests will be available at each location. As well as for departure purposes, passengers can also book tests post-arrival for day five of their mandatory self-isolation, to allow them to be released early when the government’s new test to release system comes into effect from 15 December. This news follows the recent opening of London Gatwick’s dedicated COVID-19 facility; Dublin, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Newcastle airports also offer on-site testing facilities.

The country’s chancellor has confirmed that Germany will extend restrictive COVID-19 measures until at least 10 January; they were previously set to expire on 20 December. The measures include keeping hotels and restaurants closed, and limiting gatherings.

The country’s government has confirmed that strict COVID-19 measures will now remain in place until at least 15 January. This includes the closure of many businesses, a night-time curfew and limits on close contact with others.

The country's government has announced that it is restricting travel between its regions from 21 December to 6 January as part of strict COVID-19 curbs over the Christmas holidays; there will be travel exceptions only for work, medical reasons or emergencies. On top of the regional travel bans, people will not be allowed to leave their home towns on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.

The airline has today, 3 December, published updates to its flight schedules following a reported 400% increase in bookings over the last week; insights suggest that particularly in demand are destinations such as South Africa, the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Mediterranean and even northern Finland. More insights, information and a link to their updated schedules can be found in a press release on the airline website.

The country’s government has announced their decision on COVID-19 restrictions over the festive period, including the maximum number of people per household and the timings of a night-time curfew. In addition, movement of people between Spanish regions will be banned between 23 December and 6 January, except for visits to family; at present it’s difficult to know how the movement restriction will be monitored, however.

The U.S. government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labelled Mexico a level 'four' on its COVID-19 risk scale, making it a very high risk destination for travel due to the risk that rising cases of the virus presents to U.S. nationals. For those who must travel south of the border, the CDC urges travelers to get a test for the virus one to three days before the trip, and to not travel until a negative result has been attained.

The cruise line's 'Quantum of the Seas' vessel departed Singapore yesterday, 1 December, making it Royal Caribbean International's first sailing since the global cruise shutdown in March. The ship departed at less than 30% capacity with approximately 1,100 guests on a two-day 'ocean getaway', before the cruise line launches planned itineraries of three and four days through to mid-March 2021. The cruises are exclusive to residents of Singapore.

The country’s government has announced that from 10 December, some passengers arriving in to Iceland from will be exempt from mandatory COVID-19 quarantine and screening measures if they can provide proof that they have already contracted and recovered from the virus; this must be in the form documented results from a lab within the European Economic Area, and a clinical diagnosis is not deemed valid.

The airline has announced that the British Airways Galleries First and Club South lounges at London Heathrow Terminal 5 are open from today, 2 December - as are The First Wing and Concorde Terrace. Food and beverages will be available to order via a QR code system.

The UAE's northernmost Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah has welcomed its first scheduled passenger flight by low-cost Indian airline SpiceJet. The arrival of the aircraft has been heralded as the commencement of both a new phase of operations for the United Arab Emirates’ transport hub, and a new era of connectivity between India and Ras Al Khaimah.