New Zealand is lifting the CoV restrictions in the capital Wellington and resuming quarantine-free travel to parts of Australia. The travel bubble with South Australia, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Tasmania and Victoria will resume on July 5th, according to ORF. Coronavirus restrictions in Wellington would be relaxed at midnight today.
While all the relaxations are slowly but surely being lifted here, there is no hope of any easing in South Africa. Quite the opposite: the president has declared the second highest CoV alert level. "We are in the grip of a devastating wave," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, referring to the spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus in his country. South Africa is battling a "massive resurgence" in new infections. That is why residents must prepare for far-reaching restrictions. This means that all gatherings, with the exception of funerals, are prohibited and alcohol may no longer be served. Restaurants are only allowed to offer food to-go or deliver, as reisevor9.de reports.
The EU-wide "Green Pass" is intended to make safe travel possible again in times of pandemic. The necessary technical requirements have now been created before the start on July 1st. The EU Commission has launched its electronic platform for checking vaccination certificates, which is intended to make travel easier in the summer. This means that the technical implementation of the project can be ticked off, according to Tagesschau. Seven countries have already started issuing them - including Germany. "This is a great success well ahead of schedule, which makes us confident that the system will be fully operational by July 1st," said a Commission spokesman. According to him, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Greece, Croatia and Poland are already issuing certificates. According to the Commission, other countries do not want to do this until "all functions are available nationwide." The digital vaccination certificate has already been tested in some German vaccination centers since last week. Among other things, the scanning of the certificates using an app is being put to the test. The nationwide launch of the German counterpart "CovPass" is planned for the second quarter. Everything should be ready by the end of June – before the start of the peak travel season.
Hong Kong is pulling the ripcord: Due to the ongoing turbulence surrounding the Delta variant, flights from Great Britain will no longer be allowed to land from Thursday. The United Kingdom is classified as an "extremely high-risk country," the Hong Kong government announced on Monday. As a result, planes will no longer be allowed to fly to the airport of the former British crown colony in southern China. Transit travel will also be blocked. This is reported by the aviation portal Aero. Great Britain is thus increasingly becoming Europe's problem child. Despite the ongoing vaccination campaign, the seven-day incidence rate is now back at around 124.
The re-establishment of crisis-hit Alitalia is being delayed further. The launch of ITA, the new company with state participation that will take Alitalia's place, is planned for October. Until the successor is ready to take off, the government in Rome could help Alitalia with another bridging loan, reports ORF. ITA was actually supposed to take off in August instead of Alitalia and thus benefit from business in the last phase of the holiday season. Recently, Alitalia has repeatedly had difficulty paying employees' salaries due to liquidity problems. The Italian airline has not made a profit since 2002. Numerous attempts to find a private buyer have failed. The company has been insolvent since 2017. The state had already granted the airline billions in bridging loans.
Yesterday, the Italian branch of the Lufthansa Group completed its first flight on the Cuneo-Munich route. To inaugurate the new flight, Air Dolomiti was received by representatives of Cuneo-Levaldigi airport, and the crew was also greeted with a traditional water arch ceremony. The company will operate two weekly frequencies for the months of June, July and August - every Monday and Friday - in codeshare with Lufthansa. "With the flights from Cuneo, we are expanding our offer at the Munich hub," says Paolo Sgaramella, Air Dolomiti Vice President Commercial. "We are therefore resuming our activity and offering new connections from airports that we have not previously served. This is a positive sign and an excellent opportunity for passengers, who can benefit from the new direct connection to Bavaria, but can also reach other destinations thanks to the many connections offered by Lufthansa."
Entry into Iceland is now possible for those who have recovered or been vaccinated without presenting a negative PCR test. At the same time, the island state also lifted the mask requirement and restrictions on gatherings. Electronic entry registration is still mandatory. In addition to contact details and information on flight details, this also asks questions about your state of health. If you cannot prove that you have recovered or been vaccinated, you must still present a negative PCR test. A swab is taken immediately after entry. People who have not been vaccinated or recovered must then go into quarantine until they receive the test result. Vaccinated and recovered people are exempt from this.
United Airlines' short- and medium-haul fleet is considered to be getting on in years. The US airline has now placed major orders with Airbus and Boeing. In total, the carrier ordered 270 new aircraft. The lion's share, 200 units, are Boeing 737-Max. Of these, 150 will be delivered in the largest variant, the Max-10, and 50 as the Max-8. United Airlines is also purchasing a training simulator for this type of aircraft. "We are truly humbled by United Airlines' trust in Boeing employees and in the aircraft we develop and build every day. Our strong partnership, which dates back to United's founding, has helped us grow and overcome challenges over the decades. We look forward to the recovery ahead and are honored that United has once again chosen the performance, efficiency and flexibility of the 737 family to power its growing network. The Boeing team is excited to build hundreds of these new jets for United and to enter into a groundbreaking agreement that will cement our shared future for decades to come,” said Boeing CEO Stan Deal. 70 Airbus A321neo ordered A total of 70 A321neos have been ordered from European competitor Airbus. Taking into account a previous order for 50 A321XLRs, the order volume has grown to 120 aircraft. “Such a significant order from a major airline such as United underscores that the A321neo offers unmatched capabilities, operational economics and passenger convenience,” said Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International at Airbus. “No other aircraft can do what the A321neo can do, and the Airbus team is very pleased about
The Turkish airline Atlasglobal has not flown for a long time. Now a court has ordered the liquidation of the carrier. The company had to file for bankruptcy in February 2020 - before the corona pandemic in Europe. In late autumn 2019, Atlasglobal ran into serious financial difficulties. Flight operations were suspended in November 2019, but resumed a few weeks later on a much reduced scale. In February 2020, the Istanbul-based airline then had to file for bankruptcy. Now the responsible commercial court has ordered the final liquidation of Atlasglobal. The proceeds from sales and auctions are to be paid out to creditors. According to local media, these include around 2.000 employees whose wages have not been paid for some time. According to Turkish media reports, on June 17, 2021, the Bakırköy Commercial Court of First Instance ordered the liquidation of the deceased airline's estate, which will be supervised by the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and the Bakırköy Enforcement and Bankruptcy Directorate. All proceeds will be distributed to creditors, including nearly 2.000 employees who have wage arrears.
The Italian Lufthansa subsidiary Air Dolomiti has been connecting the Upper Austrian airport Linz with the Lufthansa hub in Frankfurt am Main since Sunday. This means that the hub connection has been restored. The route has been paused since the beginning of the corona pandemic in Austria. The new operator is Air Dolomiti. Things are looking less positive on the Düsseldorf route: Eurowings postponed the start of operations, originally announced for April 2021, several times. The carrier is currently planning to start this in September 2021. This route was previously served by Austrian Airlines, but was handed over to the sister company Eurowings for the Dash phase-out. Air Dolomiti flies to Linz every day, except on Tuesdays. An increase to two rotations per day is planned for August 1, 2021. Regional jets from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer will be used.
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