Travel ban on India, other South Asian countries may be extended — Palace
MANILA, Philippines — The travel ban on India and other South Asian countries may be extended as the Philippines is expected to keep its borders closed to prevent the entry of more transmissible COVID-19 variants, Malacañang said Monday.
"Yes. As far as our borders are concerned, I think the worldwide tendency or phenomena is to continue with the travel ban because of the double variants coming from India," presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing when asked whether the travel ban on passengers from South Asian countries would be extended.
"You know, I think regardless of the classification to be recommended by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease), we won't open our borders... So that won't change, our borders will remain closed especially to countries like India and Pakistan, which recently imposed an absolutely no entry policy," he added.
The Philippines is implementing travel restrictions on passengers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka as a safety measure against the COVID-19 variant first detected in India. The restrictions on passengers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka began last May 7 and will remain in force until May 14.
Roque noted that international tourism is still prohibited and only foreigners with investors visas are allowed to enter the Philippines.
Last week, the IATF approved stricter protocols for arriving travelers, including requiring them to undergo 14-day quarantine regardless of vaccination status. The first 10 days of the quarantine will be spent in a quarantine facility while the remaining days will be completed in their respective homes.
All arriving travelers are also required to undergo a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing on the 7th day and to complete the 10-day facility based quarantine period even if they tested negative for COVID-19.
Find the latest travel and tourism news from around the world amid the coronavirus pandemic. Main image by AFP/Romeo Gacad
Airlines will fly 4.35 billion passengers this year, close to the 2019 record as the industry bounces back from the Covid pandemic, an industry group said on Monday.
The sector will also be back in the green, with net profits forecast to reach $9.8 billion in 2023, or double previous estimates, boosted by the end of China's Covid restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The association added that its 2022 losses were half as bad as previously estimated at $3.6 billion.
"Airline financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement during the association's annual general meeting in Istanbul.
"Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments. China lifted Covid-19 restrictions earlier in the year than anticipated," Walsh said. — AFP
Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific reports its first annual operating profit since 2019 as the airline fights to return to pre-pandemic flight capacity.
"Cathay Pacific has experienced three challenging years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with 2022 very much being a year of two halves," chairman Patrick Healy says in a statement announcing the results..
Cathay is still trailing regional rivals such as Singapore Airlines, with Hong Kong's axing of harsh pandemic curbs -- including mandatory hotel quarantine and strict testing requirements -- only beginning in the fall of last year.
The airline operated at one-third of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity in December but expects to reach 70% of that figure by the end of 2023, the company says. — AFP
German airline giant Lufthansa says Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses, its fortunes lifted by rebounding demand as economies reopened after COVID-19 shutdowns.
The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) for last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020.
"Lufthansa is back," says the company's CEO Carsten Spohr. — AFP
People hoping to take advantage of a Hong Kong scheme to give away half a million free airline tickets face hours-long online queues on Wednesday, as the Asian financial hub bids to woo tourists back.
The city last month launched a campaign to reboot its reputation as "Asia's world city", after years of strict pandemic-related travel restrictions and a crackdown on sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.
On Wednesday, Hong Kong became one of the last places in the world to drop its outdoor mask mandate, which city leader John Lee said was a sign that it was "resuming normalcy". — AFP
Australian airline Qantas says Thursday it bounced back into profit in late 2022, hailing a "huge turnaround" after swallowing massive losses throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
The national carrier posted a second-half profit of Aus$1.43 billion (US$974 million) before tax, after accumulating Aus$7 billion in losses across the previous three years.
Chief executive Alan Joyce says surging demand for flights had boosted the company's fortunes while announcing a plan to buy back Aus$500 million in Qantas shares. — AFP
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