Download Newsflash – APRIL
UK – Duty Free Drinking Rules
World Duty Free now requires alcohol to be sold in sealed bags to prevent the contents being accessed before or during a flight. World Duty Free shops are found at most large UK airports including Bristol, Manchester, Heathrow, Gatwick, Belfast City and Edinburgh. The new sealed bags require a sharp object to get into and are labelled: Do not open alcohol purchases until your final destination.
Indonesia – Health Alert
U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 2 Travel Notice about practicing increased precautions due to a polio outbreak in Papua Province reports U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs.
South Africa – Flysafair Boarding Passes via Whatsapp
FlySafair announced that its passengers will now have the option to send their boarding passes straight to their phones via WhatsApp once they’ve completed the check-in process. The company stated that it will be beneficial to passengers who have not made the booking them-selves or where passengers have supplied an incorrect contact number during the booking process. In addition passengers who have made bookings for multiple passengers will have the option to send each boarding pass individually to each person’s phone via WhatsApp. When checking-in online travellers should click on the option that says ‘send the boarding pass to a contact number of their choice via WhatsApp.’
South Africa – OR Tambo International Airport
New rules for checked baggage will be applied at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. The rules are as follows:
1. Only regular-shaped bags will be allowed to be checked in. This means that the bags must have at least one flat surface to be accepted.
2. Round or irregular-shaped bags will not be allowed.
3.Bags with longs straps will not be allowed. This is to prevent blockages and breakdowns in the baggage-handling system caused by bags that do not have any flat surfaces or that have long straps or grips. These are the largest source of jams and can shut down sections of the baggage handling system, delaying baggage delivery to aircraft and inconveniencing passengers and airlines.
Air France to Increase Capacity
Air France is increasing its capacity for the summer season. It will also offer several new long- haul, medium and short- haul routes during this period. The 2019 summer season sees five new routes added for departure from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. These include Belgrade (Serbia), Tbilissi (Georgia), Lorient (France), Lyon and Brest.
USA/SA/UK/China – Grounding of Planes
As the number of countries grounding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 planes grows following the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash. Airlines that primarily depend on MAX 8 planes to transport passengers will be more affected than ones that only operate a small number of the aircrafts. China, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, Argentina, The European Union and others have all grounded the planes after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed, killing all 157 people aboard.
EK UPS Durban Frequency
Emirates has introduced additional Durban flights for travel from June 2019. This seasonal service will operate four times weekly.
Zambian Airline Introduce DRC Flights
Zambia’s local airline Mahogany Air has operated its first flight to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo from Lusaka. Mahogany Air has proposed spending $15m (R217m) to acquire additional aircraft which will bring its total fleet to ten by the end of next year.
KLM Flies to Four New Destinations
KLM will add four new destinations for the coming summer season. The carrier will add Naples and Wroclaw to its European. KLM will also expand its long-haul network to include Las Vegas and Boston.
Qatar Airways to be Increasing JNB-CPT
Qatar Airways announced that it will be increasing the number of weekly flights on its popular routes to Johannesburg and Cape Town. Weekly flight frequencies to. A further two flights will be added to the airline’s winter schedule taking the total number of weekly frequencies to 21.
PLEASE CHECK GRAYSTON TRAVELS WEBSITE FOR HOLIDAY SPECIALS.
PLEASE NOTE:
All prices quoted are subject to change without prior notice, due to airfare increases and / or currency fluctuations and subject to availability.
