January 20, 2022

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January 20, 2022

A320neo: Swiss introduces Airspace cabin

The Swiss airline is introducing the "Airspace" cabin concept in its A320neo series aircraft. This includes larger luggage compartments and a new lighting system. The first two aircraft with the new A320neo cabin will begin scheduled service this month. According to Swiss, the overhead bins are around 40 percent larger than in the Airbus A320ceo, for example. They offer space for larger items of luggage measuring up to 61 x 40 x 25 centimeters. Up to four items of luggage can be stored next to each other in an overhead compartment instead of the previous three, as they can be stowed vertically in the compartments. The new lighting concept is designed to be based on the biorhythm of the passengers, depending on the time of day or night. The lighting can be adjusted from warm red to intermediate tones to older blue. Passengers will have more space in the shoulder area near the seats, and the washrooms will now be easier to use for people with limited mobility. "Despite the crisis, as a premium carrier, we are continuously working to continue to offer our passengers the highest quality standards. Airbus' modern and innovative 'Airspace' cabin concept makes an important contribution to this for our customers on short-haul flights. We are delighted to be able to offer them even more comfort with more space for their hand luggage and a new lighting concept adapted to their biorhythm," explains Tamur Goudarzi Pour, Chief Commercial Officer of Swiss. HB-JDD and HB-JDE already have the new cabin With HB-JDD, the Lufthansa subsidiary took delivery of the first Airbus A320neo equipped with the new cabin at the beginning of this month. This has been given the christening name

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Ryanair threatens complete withdrawal from Morocco

The Ryanair Group is currently in disagreement with the authorities in Morocco. The carrier is threatening to completely withdraw its flight connections from May. The background to this is that the low-cost airline does not agree with the repeated bans on international flights. The local news site Maghreb Intelligence reports that contact between Ryanair and the Moroccan authorities has been very strained since the beginning of the corona pandemic. According to the report, the Irish group is angry that the airspace has been repeatedly closed and that the airline has not been able to meet its contractual obligations to passengers. Tens of thousands of travelers are said to be affected. Due to the ban on all international passenger flights imposed because of the Omicron variant, Ryanair connections to/from Morocco are suspended until at least February 1, 2022. There is currently no decision as to whether the official measure, which affects all airlines, will expire at the end of January 2022 or not. Ryanair announced the opening of a new Boeing 737 base at Agadir Airport just a few months ago. If the airline were to withdraw from Morocco, this airline could also be closed. The local tourism industry is concerned about the current developments, as the Irish company is said to have flown in many holidaymakers in the past.

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Australia: Queensland abolishes entry quarantine

The Australian state of Queensland plans to fully reopen to international travel with effect from January 22, 2022. However, only people who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 will be allowed into the country. In addition, a negative PCR test must be presented, which must not be older than 72 hours at the time of boarding the plane. Rapid antigen tests will be carried out randomly upon arrival. At most, arriving travelers should complete one in Australia within 24 hours of landing. The previously usual quarantine will no longer apply. Entry will be refused without proof of full vaccination against Covid-19. The state of Queensland is particularly popular with tourists, not least because of the Great Barrier Reef.

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Air Astana has restarted the route network

The Kazakh airline Air Astana announced that it has now restarted its domestic and international route network. Due to the events in the country, there were temporary restrictions on air traffic. In addition to the existing flights, for example to Frankfurt, there are again regular connections to Colombo, Male, Phuket, London, Dubai, Antalya, Dushanbe/Tajikistan and Bishkek/Kyrgyzstan. In addition, Kazakhstan's national airline has adjusted its rebooking and refund policies for flights taking place up to January 31, 2022. Passengers can have their flights rebooked for any day before February 28, 2022 or request a full refund at least 24 hours before the original departure date.

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Freight: Austrian Post records a new record

Austria's largest logistics group, Österreichische Post AG, transported more parcels last year than ever before. This saw significant growth not only domestically, but also internationally. Many shipments were transported by air. Austrian Post transports parcels and pallets in a total of nine countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, Austria, Serbia, Slovakia, Hungary and Turkey. The Turkish subsidiary Aras Kargo saw particularly strong growth, with a volume of 217 million shipments. In Austria, the post office increased by eleven percent to 184 million parcels. “Across all subsidiaries, parcel volumes amounted to 2021 million in 452. The majority of these were in Austria and Turkey. But our subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe also recorded enormous growth rates, with volumes increasing by 16 percent. We transported almost 52 million parcels there last year," says Peter Umundum, Board Member for Parcel & Logistics, Österreichische Post AG, who emphasizes that, like in Austria, growth in foreign markets is primarily due to the increasing trend towards e-commerce. 2022 will also be a year of targeted investments. Express One is putting new sorting systems into operation in Hungary, the conveyor technology in the logistics centers is being expanded in Slovakia, and the parcel machines are also being further expanded throughout CEE. At Aras Kargo, the sorting capacity in the logistics centers is being increased by a further 30 percent and the delivery fleet is being expanded and renewed.

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Aida will continue to cover PCR test costs

The German shipping company Aida also wants to cover the costs of a PCR test, which must be completed before boarding, for new bookings for the 2022 summer season. Passengers can have this done at the Helios clinics or in selected cruise terminals without having to pay any of their own expenses. The swab should be taken about three days before departure. Alternatively, the PCR test can also be done by a doctor or in another test center. In this case, Aida will reimburse the costs. A flat rate of 50 euros will be credited to the on-board account. There is no provision for cash reimbursement of the costs for the PCR. Aida also wants to enable free rebookings in the event of positive tests. This should be possible if the result is available no earlier than 14 days, but no later than on the day of departure, and is positive. According to the company, you should then be able to choose a new date for the cruise free of charge once. In the event of quarantine during the trip or theoretically possible disembarkation due to a corona infection, the shipping company wants to pay for the necessary accommodation and the journey home. The basic requirement for participation in Aida cruises for all persons aged 12 or over is: complete vaccination against the coronavirus. Passengers should therefore keep an eye on what is considered complete by the time of their departure and, if necessary, have a possibly necessary booster shot done in good time.

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Summer 2023: Cunard announces Queens fleet departures

The British shipping company Cunard has announced the planned cruises and transatlantic crossings of its three Queen-class ships for the 2023 summer season. A total of over 150 tours are to be offered. Sales are scheduled to begin in early February 2022. The three cruise ships are scheduled to call at around 23 ports in 15 countries between April 2023 and December 120, 35. The Queen Mary 2, which is currently the world's only transatlantic liner, will be sent on the traditional route between Southampton and New York 18 times. In the Mediterranean, trips from Barcelona are to be offered in the summer. Also on the schedule: a two-week cruise around Canada and a 16-day Baltic Sea trip with an overnight stay in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Queen Elizabeth will initially set sail from Vancouver in June 2023. Cruises from Barcelona in the western Mediterranean are also planned for autumn 2023. The Queen Victoria will start its summer season in Southampton in April 2023. First, it will head towards the Canary Islands. In June 2023, a cruise to the North Cape will be offered from the British city. Cunard will start sales for the 1 summer season from February 2022, 2023. Initially, only regular guests will be able to book, but bookings for the general public will be possible from February 2, 2022.

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Entry: Sweden abolishes compulsory testing

The Swedish government has changed the entry regulations and will no longer require the presentation of negative corona tests. This regulation was introduced on December 28, 2022 due to the Omicron corona variant. Now it has apparently been determined in Sweden that the requirement was not very effective, because this mutation is now also dominant in this Nordic country. The government justifies the abolition of the requirement to present negative corona tests by saying that this is no longer appropriate. "Travelers are no longer considered particularly relevant to influencing the spread of Omicron in Sweden," the Swedish government announced.

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From January 22.01.2022nd, XNUMX: Switzerland simplifies entry rules

Effective February 22, 2022, Switzerland is changing its entry regulations. In future, vaccinated and recovered people will no longer have to present a negative PCR test. Unvaccinated people will still have to do this, but the second test, which previously had to be carried out after entry, will be abolished. The validity of vaccination certificates will be reduced from 365 days to 270 days. The background to this is that the European Union has recommended this measure for its members. The Swiss Confederation wants to ensure that EU members continue to recognize vaccination certificates issued in Switzerland. However, it should be noted that there is now a veritable patchwork of regulations, with countries such as Austria linking validity to booster shots as part of national solo efforts. The graphic below shows a simplified version of the new regulations, which will come into force on January 22, 2022:

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Ukraine had around 2021 million passengers in 16

Ukraine's largest airports handled around 16.221.000 passengers last year. Of these, 9.348.500 travelers were transported by carriers with a Ukrainian AOC. The lion's share of this was at the country's largest airport, Borispil. Ukraine counted around 14.753.000 passengers on international routes. 1.468.000 passengers traveled on domestic routes. Airlines with Ukrainian registration had 8.622.900 passengers on international flights and 725.600 on point-to-point connections within the country. In this count, transfer passengers were assigned to the airline that brought the travelers into the country. The traffic volume was distributed as follows: The capital city of Kiev (Zhulyany) had 1.418.000 passengers. The country's largest airport, Borispil, had 9.433.000 passengers. In Lviv, 1.834.000 passengers were counted, in Odessa 1.328.000 passengers, in Kharkiv 1.160.000 passengers, in Zaporizhia 617.500 passengers and in Dnipro 267.800 passengers were counted.

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