NEWSFLASH – MARCH 2016 - Grayston Travel

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Nigeria Suspends Visa Issuing

The Nigerian consulate has run out of emergency visa labels and will not issue emergency visas until further notice. The consulate said it was still issuing all other visas.

South Africa Prepares For Zika Spread

While the Colombian businessman diagnosed with the Zika virus last Friday while visiting South Africa has made a full recovery, the Department of Health has developed an action plan to prevent the importation and spread of Zika into the country. The virus was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation earlier this month. In a statement, the Department said its preventative measures included the disinfection of aircraft, airports and cargo containers as well as the establishment of an Emergency Operations Centre, which is on standby and will be active in the event of an outbreak in the country.

SAA Amends Closing Time For Local Flights

South African Airways has amended its departure closing time for check-in to 40 minutes before boarding on certain domestic flights operated from OR Tambo International Airport effective of the 1st of April. Previously, SAA closed all domestic flights 30 minutes prior to check-in. The change will apply to flights from Johannesburg to Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and East London. The reason for closing flights earlier is to allow the airline to conclude all departure procedures timeously, especially those relating to baggage, so that our customers may not be inconvenienced by possibly travelling with their baggage left behind.

British Airways Closing Time For Departures

All domestic and regional British Airways flights operated by Comair will close 45 minutes prior to departure as opposed to the previous closing time of 30 minutes. The check-in close out time has been standardized across British Airways global route network and its franchise partners as part of the airline’s deployment of a new airport solution which is currently being rolled out across all airports that it serves.

Airports End Enhanced Ebola Screening

The United States has ended the enhanced screening of passengers for potential Ebola virus infection from West African countries. Guinea has been removed from the list of nations affected by Ebola for which travellers are subject to enhanced US visa and port-of-entry screening.

Delta Launches New Routes

Delta Air Lines is to offer six new routes between Europe and the United States. The first starts in April with a service from London Heathrow to Salt Lake City. This will be followed in May by Edinburgh to New York JFK; Paris to Raleigh-Durham; Munich to Detroit; and both Rome and Keflavik to Minneapolis. Delta will also increase frequency to the United States during the peak travel months from cities including Tel Aviv and Amsterdam.

Emirates Launches Direct Dubai – Auckland Route

Emirates will launch a non-stop, daily Dubai (DXB) to Auckland (AKL) route effective of the 1st of March. Flight EK 448 will depart Dubai at 10h05 to arrive in Auckland at 11h00 the next day. Return flight EK449 will depart Auckland at 21h30 to arrive in Dubai at 05h45 the next day. Travel agents whose clients are currently booked on existing flights to Dubai and beyond will be able to remove their clients to the new service without additional fees. This is however subject to seat availability. The new service will be in addition to five existing daily services from Dubai to New Zealand.

Temporary Closure at Terminal A – OR Tambo

The Immigration and Security Screen Area accessible from Terminal A will be closed for approximately 6 – 8 weeks for refurbishment from mid-February. All passengers will still check-in at Terminal A at the check-in counters but will be directed to Terminal B for Security and Immigration formalities. Clients are advised to allow for additional time as waiting times could be longer than normal.