Search alerts

Visitors to Scotland from the Spanish mainland and its islands, as well as returning Scottish residents, will no longer be required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival from this week. A list of quarantine-exempt countries published by the Scottish government previously came into force on 10 July, and has since been reviewed. As a devolved administration, Scotland has chosen to act independently of fellow UK countries including England and Wales during the COVID-19 pandemic.

British passenger cruise line Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) has ceased operations after failing to secure the necessary funding. CMV sourced mainly British passengers and operated six cruise ships: the Columbus, Vasco da Gama, Astoria, Astor, Marco Polo and Magellan.

The airline have announced that they will start flying a new route from London Gatwick Airport to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica from 13 October. The twice-weekly service will operate on a Tuesday and Saturday on a Boeing 777 aircraft, with seats available in World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World.

The government of the Caribbean nation of Dominica have announced that the country will permit international arrivals from 7 August; tentative plans had previously been announced for a date later in August. Visitors must complete an online health questionnaire and submit a negative result for a COVID-19 PCR test taken up to 72 hours before arrival.

The country's government has announced that they have expanded to 42 the number of countries on its COVID-19 watch list, from which new arrivals must enter a 10-day quarantine. New entries as of tomorrow, 23 July include Bosnia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, the Palestinian territories, Suriname and the United Arab Emirates. Belarus and Sweden, however, are to be removed.

Nepal's government announced late last night, 20 July, that it will extend the suspension of regular international flights until 17 August, when they will begin to resume nearly four months after they were halted. Previously, the suspension was set to expire on 22 July.

From 25 July all travellers entering Hong Kong from high-risk destinations will be permitted to quarantine within a hotel, provided that they can show evidence of booked accommodation for at least 14 days from the date of arrival. They will also though be required to provide a letter, certified by a laboratory or health institution, verifying that they have undergone and received a negative test result for COVID-19 no more than 72 hours prior to their departure. Currently, the list of high-risk countries includes Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and South Africa.

The release of Ireland's 'green list' of countries set to be exempt from COVID-19 arrival measures has been delayed, despite previous assurances that it would be made available by 20 July. The delay has been caused by the postponement of a government cabinet meeting to sign-off on the list, and it is currently not clear when it will be re-scheduled for.

Air New Zealand have announced that validity of travel credit issued under their COVID-19 flexibility policy for international and domestic travel has now been extended; passengers are now able to make a new booking until 31 December 2021 for travel dates until 31 December 2022. The policy previously covered bookings made by 30 June 2021 for travel until 30 June 2022.

China's aviation ministry announced on 21 July that passengers on flights arriving to the Chinese mainland must provide negative COVID-19 test results before boarding. Nucleic acid tests must be completed within five days of departure, at facilities designated or recognised by Chinese embassies in host countries.

The brand, which represents a portfolio of hotels within South Africa and Namibia, has released a new series of health and safety protocols in order to show their commitment to providing a safe environment in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bahamas is set to close its borders to visitors from the U.S on 22 July, around three weeks after it previously opened them. The decision has reportedly been made due to an uptick in cases of COVID-19 with the islands. From 22 July, only commercial flights and vessels from Canada, the UK and the European Union will be permitted entry.

The Republic of Ireland is due to publish a 'green list' of countries from which arrivals will not be subject to restricted movement or quarantine. Eligible countries are to be determined based on their COVID-19 infection numbers, and the list will be reviewed every two weeks. Great Britain is reportedly expected to not be included.

Express COVID-19 testing has been made available on a trial basis today, 20 July, for some passengers at Russia’s busiest airport, Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. The trial is part of a pilot project aimed at allowing air travel and tourism to resume safely. Following the trial and pending any problems, the express testing will be available from 27 July for domestic and international flights at Sheremetyevo’s Terminal D.

Rwanda's national airline have announced that they will resume flights on 1 August to select routes within Africa, where border restrictions are currently not prohibitive. They will also resume services to Dubai International Airport.

Panama’s civil aviation authority has announced that it will extend a suspension of international flights by another month due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The additional month of suspended flights begins on 22 July.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline has announced that they are now set to operate flights to 10 cities in the Middle East and Africa throughout July and August. From 1 August this will include flights to Amman, Casablanca, Muscat, Rabat, Riyadh and Seychelles.

Marriott International has announced it that will require all guests to wear a face covering in its U.S hotels from 27 July; the move follows an announcement on guidelines from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) last week.

From 18 July, British Airways will be resuming flights from Dubai International Airport; services will operate from Terminal 3, rather than Terminal 1 as they did previously.

The government of India has agreed to allow U.S. airlines to resume passenger services to the country starting from 23 July. India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Twitter it was moving to further expand international civil aviation operations with arrangements for flights with the U.S., United Arab Emirates, France & Germany.