Travel Advisory

Brussels Airlines had to rebook tens of thousands of flights that had suddenly been canceled or postponed as a result of the changing travel regulations.

Brussels Airlines announced an adjusted flight schedule for the months of September and October. The initial schedule had been drawn up months ago, before the coronavirus crisis started.

Significant Travel Impact
Oman has resumed some of its domestic flights, according to Minister of Transport and Communications, Dr Ahmed Mohammed Al-Futaisi.


Addressing a press conference, he said: "The Supreme Committee opened some domestic flights between Muscat and some airports of oil fields and commercial helicopters."


On Wednesday, SalamAir's flights took-off from Muscat to Marmul and Qarn Alan airports.

Dozens of countries will be exempt from a travel quarantine from Monday, UK government sources have indicated.

Currently, most people arriving into the UK from anywhere apart from the Republic of Ireland have to self-isolate for two weeks.

Ministers had previously indicated they were working to establish a relatively small number of travel corridors.

Travel and tourism companies have been calling for urgent clarity over the corridors amid rising bookings.
Last weekend, the government said it would relax its advice on travel abroad and would rate countries as either green, amber or red, depending on the prevalence of the virus.

Now government sources have indicated that a very long list of countries is likely to be published by the end of this week.

It is possible that up to 75 countries deemed low or very low risk will be exempt from the UK's quarantine from Monday, 6 July.

HAVANA, July 1 (Reuters) - Cuba said on Wednesday it will begin easing a pandemic lock down on Havana on Friday, while most of the rest of the country will move to phase two of a three-phase process towards normalization.

The capital's 2.2 million residents will once more be able to move around on public and private transport, go to the beach and other recreation centers, and enjoy a seaside drive just in time for the summer break. They can also dine and have a drink, although social distancing and wearing masks remain mandatory. Optional medical and other services will also resume.

Only a handful of COVID-19 cases were reported in Cuba last month, all but a few in Havana. Most of the Caribbean island, home to 11.2 million inhabitants, has been free of the disease for more than a month.

Each phase of the reopening allows capacity at venues to increase from an initial 50 percent. Interprovincial transportation begins during phase two, while phase three includes schools reopening.

On Wednesday the country opened a group of isolated resort keys to international tourism. Phase three broadens international travel depending on risk.

The lock down began in March and, except for the western province of Matanzas and Havana, moved to phase one of normalization two weeks ago. Matanzas entered phase one a week ago.

The Communist-run country has been given high marks for its textbook handling of the pandemic by the World Health Organization.

Cuba's robust and free community based health system, door to door search for carriers, isolation of the sick, suspected cases and contacts allowed it to keep the number of cases under 2,500. Its recovery and mortality rates are also much better than international and regional norms

The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has been allowed to continue flight operations to and from the European Union (EU) till July 3, a spokesperson for the national flag carrier confirmed Wednesday.

The spokesperson said all PIA flights to and from Islamabad to London — PK785 and PK 786 — would operate as per schedule. An announcement with regard to other flights will be made soon, they added.

The UK Civil Aviation Agency (UK CAA) had also suspended Pakistan International Airlines flight operations from three airports — Birmingham, London Heathrow, and Manchester on Tuesday.

The move followed the decision by the EASA to suspend the PIA's air operations permit for a period of six months. It comes after the grounding of 262 Pakistani pilots whose licences Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan had termed "dubious."

ABUJA, July 1 (Reuters) - Nigeria will resume domestic flights from July 8, the government said on Wednesday, as Africa's most populous country relaxes novel coronavirus restrictions despite mounting cases and deaths.


The airports for the capital Abuja and Lagos will open on July 8, while a handful of others are set to open July 11 and the rest on July 15, the government said on its official Twitter account.


No date was given for the resumption of international flights.


Nigeria had confirmed more than 25,000 coronavirus cases and almost 600 deaths as of Wednesday, with little sign of the outbreak slowing. Officials have expressed their concern that the outbreak in the West African country might become much worse.


Yet the government is keenly aware of the economic toll of the virus, which has crushed the price of oil, on which Nigeria depends. Officials have steadily eased measures aimed at curbing the outbreak, believing the economic damage of a stringent lockdown could be worse than the harm done by the pandemic.

Sunshine Coast Airport is gearing up to reopen its terminal and recommence selected domestic services from next week.

Sunshine Coast Airport Chief Executive Officer Andrew Brodie said regular passenger flights between Sunshine Coast and Sydney have been confirmed from 10 July.

The Pakistan government has decided to further extend the permission for operating domestic flights to and from six airports of the country till August 31.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued a NOTAM, notice to airmen, regarding the extension, reports Dawn news.

The permission in this regard was earlier given till June 30.

The CAA's NOTAM says that the government of Pakistan is pleased to allow restricted domestic schedule and chartered passenger flight operations between Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta airports only in accordance with established guidelines, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and prior approval from the competent authority.

However, domestic flights operation to and from the Islamabad international airport for Gilgit and Skardu airports would continue as normal operation.

It further said the domestic schedule and the chartered passenger flight operation from all other airports would remain suspended.

Ryanair has been asked to cancel flights from Cardiff Airport by the Welsh Government.

They want the low-cost airline to scrap planned flights to Faro in Portugal and Malaga in Spain this Friday because of lock down restrictions.

The Welsh Government, which wholly owns the airport, still has a legal five mile restriction for nonessential travel in place and people are required to 'stay local' in Wales.

The five mile rule could be lifted next week as part of the next stage of the easing process.

El Al has canceled all flights planned for Wednesday, after the pilot's union announced that pilots would not embark on flights due to the company's financial crisis.

According to Globes, El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin ordered all of the company's aircraft to return to Israel. All flights, including both passenger and cargo flights, are canceled until further notice.

El Al lost $140 million, about half a billion NIS, in the first quarter of 2020, according to a report by the company on Tuesday.

The pilot's union announced on Tuesday evening that after "the administration of the company did not even respect the agreements that were signed with the union less than a month ago, the union had no choice but to arrive to the conclusion that the owners of the company are unable to save it from its situation," KAN news reported.

[Editor's Note: This alert has been modified to upgrade its urgency level.]

MADRID, July 1 (Reuters) - Spain and Portugal's prime ministers on Wednesday officially reopened their joint border to all travelers after a three-month closure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In the presence of Spain's King Felipe and Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Portuguese counterpart Antonio Costa, solemnly opened the border. All other travel restrictions within the European Union were lifted last week.

"Our shared prosperity and common destiny within the European project depend on this border being open," Costa tweeted earlier on Wednesday. "The pandemic offered us a new vision of the past we do not want to come back to: a continent with closed borders."

Most EU countries have agreed to reopen their external borders on July 1st to visitors from 15 countries - but Italy will be keeping its travel ban in place. Here's what you need to know.

The EU 27 member states on Tuesday agreed on a list of 15 countries whose citizens would be allowed to travel to European Union from July 1st.

But later on Tuesday Italy, which had seemed to be in favor of reopening, announced it would not be lifting its ban on travel from outside Europe.

The 15 non-EU countries on the "safe list" are: Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

On June 30, the Gabonese government announced that a number of the restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted or modified. The following changes will take effect on July 1 at 05:00:

· Commercial air travel may resume. Two international flights per airline per week will be permitted.

· Although Gabon’s land and sea borders will remain closed to travelers, travel by air, boat, and train within Gabon may resume.

· Regular working hours will resume in the public and private sectors.

· Hotels may reopen.

· Restaurants with outdoor dining terraces may reopen.

· A curfew will remain in effect, but with reduced hours (20:00 to 05:00).

· Classes for students who plan to take the baccalaureate exam in August will resume on July 20. Post-secondary classes may resume on July 13.

Masks are still required in public and social distancing and hygiene requirements will continue. The government cautioned that restrictions may be reinstated in certain locations or throughout the country if new outbreaks occur.

The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday announced the extension of the ban on regular flights in the country until July 15.

The ban includes both domestic and international flights with the exception of those of emergency, medical evacuation and air cargo as well as planes that cross Iraqi airspace, according to a statement by the authority.

The authority also confirmed continued approvals for the flights to evacuate the Iraqis stranded abroad.

However, Iraqi Minister of Transport Nasser al-Shibli announced another exception in a statement that Iraqi Airways will resume commercial flights between Baghdad and Beirut airports starting July 2.

U.K. low cost carrier easyJet has resumed flights to and from Tel Aviv. Yesterday on July 1, an easyJet flight from London, Luton landed in Israel and later returned to the U.K. - the first easyJet flight to land in Israel since March. Another Tel Aviv-London, Luton flight is scheduled for today.

NUR-SULTAN, July 2 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan will close some non-essential businesses, limit travel between provinces, cut public transit hours of operation and ban public gatherings for two weeks starting from July 5, the government said on Thursday.

The measures aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus in the Central Asian country may be tightened or extended later, the cabinet said in a statement.

Travel options to and from Israel, the West Bank and Gaza remain limited due to border closures and flight cancellations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

United and Delta airlines currently offer regularly scheduled direct flights between Ben Gurion airport and multiple destinations in the United States, but flights are subject to change at any time. Effective July 1, El Al airlines has suspended all flights. Flights from Ben Gurion airport to other destinations which provide direct connections to the United States are also available. Further flight cancellations and suspensions can occur with little or no warning, making availability limited and unpredictable. Your travel plans may be severely disrupted, and you may be forced to remain outside of the United States for an indefinite time frame.

The Embassy is not able to assist with arranging commercial travel options. If your travel has been disrupted or to make travel arrangements, please contact your airline: United Airlines (Local: 03-5116787, U.S.: 1-800-225-8610), El Al Airlines (Local: 03-977-1111) or Delta Airlines (Local: 03-513-8000, U.S.: 1-800-221-1212)

Individuals, including U.S. citizens, who are not Israeli citizens or permanent residents are not presently allowed to enter Israel. Exceptions may be made for non-nationals whose lives are based in Israel. Such individuals who wish to travel to Israel should contact the Consular Department of the closest Israeli embassy or consulate for further information. We [U.S. Embassy] recommend travelers not board flights to Israel without a pre-clearance letter from the Israeli government as there is no assurance they will be admitted into the country.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Warning Level 3 – Avoid Nonessential Travel to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. As of March 25, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that travelers from CDC Level 3 or Level 4 countries who are asymptomatic may enter the United States and travel to their final destination and self-quarantine upon arrival. For further information on COVID-19 and returning to the United States, please visit the CDC website.

All of Israel's land border crossings with Jordan and Egypt remain closed to regular passenger traffic until further notice. The Government of Jordan has suspended all inbound and outbound flights and closed land and sea borders to all passenger traffic, including Jordanian passport holders.

The Government of Israel has stated that travel in and out of Gaza through the Erez crossing is restricted to urgent humanitarian cases only. The de facto authority in Gaza stated that travel in and out of Gaza will only be permitted for urgent humanitarian cases and that those coming into Gaza will be quarantined for a period of 21 days.

Please check the U.S. Embassy Jerusalem COVID-19 website for more information about available flights and the status of border crossings.

Bristol Airport has reopened to commercial passengers but at only 10% of its usual capacity.


Only 10 flights each arriving and departing marked the return to operations on Wednesday 1 July, with 2,000 passengers using the main terminal as opposed to 27,000 on a normal July day.


The airport has continued to operate throughout the coronavirus outbreak but only for essential flights of vital cargo and key workers.


Passengers' temperatures are checked on arrival in a walk-through tent and face masks are compulsory throughout.

Key flights are resuming at Memphis International Airport as passenger travel begins a comeback from a COVID-19-induced 95 percent passenger-flight reduction in April.

Among nonstop resuming in July are American to Philadelphia, July 7; Delta to Detroit, July 8; and United to Denver, July 7, and Chicago, July 6.

A Delta nonstop to Salt Lake City that was supposed to start in June has been reset to launch Aug. 1.

Japan Airlines Co. is planning to fully restart its domestic flights as early as October, officials said Wednesday, amid signs of a recovery in travel demand, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

All international flights to Melbourne Airport are now suspended until the middle of July to help combat a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases.

Speaking at a media conference on Tuesday evening, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he has asked Prime Minister Scott Morrison to divert all international flights from Melbourne for the next two weeks. "Today's flights will be the last ones for a period of two weeks," Andrews said.

While Qantas and Virgin Australia have suspended all international services, Melbourne Airport – the country's second-busiest gateway – continued to host flights from Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, China Southern, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, with Malaysia Airlines due to resume flights from Kuala Lumpur as of July 3.

Air New Zealand confirms that it "received a directive late last night (Tuesday) that no international passengers are eligible to arrive into Melbourne for the next two weeks in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 within the local community." "Due to Australian Government restrictions Air New Zealand will not operate passenger services from Auckland to Melbourne from 1 July to 14 July," the airline advised.

However, AirNZ will continue to offer passenger flights from Melbourne to Auckland during this period. The planes for these services will be flown into Melbourne with only cargo on board, and will then return to New Zealand carrying passengers.

It's expected that Air New Zealand, and other airlines, will reroute Melbourne-bound passengers via Sydney and other international airports, where they would spend 14 days in hotel quarantine before making their way to Melbourne, or their final destination within Australia, on a domestic flight.

London Southend Airport has opened its terminal doors to passengers the first time in three months after being closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Airport chief executive, Glyn Jones, cut a rainbow ribbon in honor of NHS workers at a re-opening ceremony for the Malaga flight with Ryanair.

The terminal is packed with new measures to protect passengers and employees using the airport.

Services are expected to resume throughout July from airline partners including Ryanair, Wizz Air and Flyone - plus a new route to Norway which will start in August with Wideroe.

While a reduced schedule is operated initially latest flight information is available via airlines directly and the airport will provide updates as they become available.

[Editor's Note: This alert has been modified to upgrade its urgency level.]

Tonga's government has delayed plans to reopen its border to New Zealand.

Prime Minister Pohiva Tu'i'onetoa said the plan to allow inbound passengers this month had been deferred.

He said he would make a formal announcement about the government's plans "soon."

Tonga canceled all flights to the country in March, leaving hundreds of Tongans stranded abroad, mostly in New Zealand.

The country has seen no cases of COVID-19.

RHODES, Greece July 1 (Reuters) - Greece reopened its regional airports to international flights on Wednesday, pinning its hopes on a recovery in tourism after a three-month lock down.

The Mediterranean nation, emerging from a decade-long debt crisis, has been unwinding travel restrictions to kick-start its tourism sector, which accounts for a fifth of its economic output and employs 700,000.

Dozens of flights were expected on Wednesday at Greece's 18 regional airports, which link to some of its most popular resorts. All travellers must fill in a passenger locator form (PLF) https://travel.gov.gr at least 48 hours before entering the country. Random tests will be conducted upon arrival.

Greece's two main airports opened last month but more flights were allowed from July 1, from non EU countries.

The European Union gave approval on Tuesday to leisure or business travel from 14 countries outside its borders. From its initial "safe list" it excluded Russia and the United States, both significant tourism markets for Greece.

The country has managed to contain coronavirus infections to 3,409 since its first case in February. But its economy is expected to shrink by at least 8% this year.

The conservative government faces the tough task of opening Greece to foreign visitors and preventing a new virus outbreak. The country reported 20 new cases on Tuesday, nine of them arriving by air, government officials said.

Greece is following EU directives on who is allowed into the country. Direct flights from Britain, Sweden and Turkey will not be permitted until July 15.

VALLETTA, July 1 (Reuters) - Malta reopened its airport on Wednesday to allow visitors from several European countries, but the move will not include Britain, which accounts for 30% of the island's tourist arrivals.

The reopened connections include cities in France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

"We hope to welcome 700,000 tourists by the end of the year," Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli told a news conference on Tuesday.

The figure is a far cry from the 2.7 million who visited Malta last year, contributing a quarter of the country's output. Farrugia Portelli said talks were underway to widen the list of destinations, particularly Britain.

Tony Zahra, president of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association, said he expected a slow start with possibly 15% of arrivals in July compared to the same month last year.

Malta "could no longer keep the airport closed," he said.

Travel was banned in March due to the spread of the coronavirus in Europe. Restrictions on economic activities, including bars and restaurants, were eased early in June.

Malta has had only two new COVID-19 cases in the last week, and health authorities said they are treating only 26 active cases. Nine people have died of the virus.

"Malta is being advertised as a safe country", Farrugia Portelli said, adding that tourists arriving in Malta will not need to quarantine.

Social distancing will be enforced at Malta's airport, all travelers will have to wear masks or visors inside the terminal and thermal cameras will be used to screen passengers.