Local airlines are staring at a bleak future following the outbreak of coronavirus which has so far claimed the lives of over 6,400 people across the world.

The airlines, majority of who ply local and international routes frequented by tourists, say they are staring at a sharp fall in revenues due to the ongoing cancellation of flights.

“It’s a difficult time in the industry. Numbers are plummeting,” said Safarilink chief executive Alex Avedi in a phone interview with the Shipping& Logistics yesterday.

Mr Avedi noted that following the outbreak of Covid-19 virus, cancellation of flights especially by foreign tourist who use the airlines to connect to destinations such as Maasai Mara, has been on the rise.

He noted that their travellers, who normally plan for a seven-day visit into the country are opting to reschedule their flights because, even if they were to come, they will be quarantined for 14 days.

“There are those who are worried that if they come into the country, they have to be quarantine first. No one is willing to go that route,” Mr Avedi said.

“The airline will not send home its workers during this low-season but will ask them to take unpaid leave if necessary.”

Low-cost carrier Jambojet, which has been serving both domestic and international routes, on Monday suspended its operations on the Kigali and Entebbe routes following the spread of coronavirus, which the airlines said has resulted in a decline in the number of passenger bookings.

The airline said the flights to Rwanda and Uganda will remain suspended with immediate effect in a move which is likely to further dent its revenue this financial year.

The airline, however, did not indicate when it is hoping to resume normal operations on the routes that have been cancelled.

“Over the past few weeks, there has been a global spread of Covid-19 which has resulted in a decrease in airline passengers especially on the international routes,” said the airline in a statement Monday.

“As a result, Jambojet has decided to suspend its services to Kigali, Rwanda and Entebbe, Uganda with immediate effect.”

The airline however indicated that it would rebook customers affected by suspension of flights on the routes to alternative flights.

The airline also indicated that flights on local destinations including Malindi, Ukunda, Mombasa, Kisumu as well as Eldoret will continue to operate as scheduled.

“We would like to reiterate that the safety of our passengers and staff remains of utmost importance to us. We will continue to monitor the situation and share regular updates,” said the airline.

The temporary suspension of flights by Jambojet comes barely a few days after Embattled National carrier Kenya Airways (KQ) also stopped its flight on Rome-Geneva route following the outbreak of coronavirus.

The airline in a statement released on Thursday last week said the flights to Italy and Switzerland will remain suspended effective March 13, 2020.

The loss-making airline will however continue flying to other routes albeit with adjusted schedules.

KQ also suspended flights to Malindi effective March 16 until further notice. It also suspended one flight to Mumbai, India effective March 17, 2020 to April 15, 2020.

“The remaining Mumbai KQ204/5 frequency will be upgraded to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner effective March 17, 2020 to April 15, 2020,” said KQ in statement.

The impact of coronavirus has decimated airlines across the globe, especially US and Europe, following closure of national borders and grounding of flights.

Choked by the stringent antivirus measures, America’s biggest airlines have called for more than $50 billion (Sh5 trillion) in bailout to mitigate against the effect of the pandemic.

US President Donald Trump on Monday promised his administration will give airlines “100 percent” support.

Across the globe, the airline industry is facing massive losses and widespread layoffs as lockdown keeps passengers at home.

African airlines are also beginning to feel the pinch.

Tunisia has announced it will be closing its land borders and airspace to all commercial activities from today, in a bid to protect the country from the spread of coronavirus.

All commercial flights are to be cancelled, but arranged evacuation flights will be permitted. Trade and cargo will not be affected by these measures.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/shipping/Airlines-stare-at-bleak-future-as-corona-disrupts-travelling/4003122-5494744-7cdgx0z/index.html

 

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) has urged Kenyans to remain calm amidst reports of the first diagnosed case of Coronavirus.

KATA CEO Ms. Agnes Mucuha stated that despite a case being reported in the country, Kenyans should continue following directives issued by the Ministry of Health that will help in stopping the spread of the highly contagious disease that has so far claimed over 4,600 lives and infected over 130, 000 others.

“We urge the public to take every precaution as they go about their business to avoid the risk of spreading the disease further. We are confident in the measures that are in place by the government to control the spread of the disease and with adherence” she stated.

The Kenyan Government, she added, is fully prepared and is following the issue closely and has set up mitigation measures to ensure the safety of its citizen.

She further called upon the public to avoid spreading unsubstantiated rumours through social media on COVID-19 to avoid causing a state of panic and misinformation.

“I encourage travellers and the public in general to seek information from credible sources like the Government websites and KATA travel agents,” the CEO urged.

She also redirected travellers to the Coronavirus Updates page on the KATA website on https://katakenya.org/corona-virus-updates/

Earlier in the week, The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife held a consultative meeting with industry stakeholders, to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and measures to be taken for purposes of risks mitigation.

KATA’s Chairman Mr. Mohammed Wanyoike led a delegation of KATA board members and the CEO Ms. Mucuha in this meeting and called on the government to consider extraordinary support measures for Kenya’s travel agents.

Following the meeting with cabinet secretary Hon. Najib Balala yesterday, the government has pledged to release USD 5 million towards public relations and marketing activities post COVID-19 pandemic that has rocked the global economy.

KATA called for the Government to consider steps to protect travel agent’s business that may suffer financial distress. These measures include a call for the government to pay all pending bills owed to travel agents, interest free grants, a relief to business PAYE, deadline extensions on bank loan premiums.

 

Hon Balala stated that he would further engage his counterpart in the Labour Ministry Mr. Simon Kiprono to discuss flexibility on labour relations matters in relation to COVID-19.

KATA expressed concern over major loss of revenue and loss of jobs should the virus continue spreading.

Ms Mucuha said, “passenger number bookings have been declining significantly following the suspension of flights, and general fear by travellers. This has also been compounded by the travel restrictions issued by the government and corporate companies in Kenya. March 2020 has witnessed a decline by 30% over last year on passenger numbers”.

The CS further assured travel agents that he will work with Treasury to fast track all pending bills owed to Travel Agents for the period 2019 in order to ease the cashflow constraints during this unprecedented time.

KATA remains proactive in providing up to date fact-based information to members and providing a clear perspective so they can make informed decisions.”

Coronavirus deaths have risen to over 4, 600 cases while the infected people are 134, 804.

The UAE has suspended, effective March 17, all visas to all foreigners, with the exception of diplomatic passport holders.

In a statement released today, the Federal Authority for Identity And Citizenship (ICA) said: “The move comes as part of the precautionary measures taken by the UAE in response to the World Health Organisation’s declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, a development which reflects the high risks now associated with travel under the current circumstances.”

The decision does not apply to those who already have their visas issued prior to the aforementioned date.

The ICA noted that the additional precautionary decision will be valid until a mechanism for medical examination has been established in the countries of departure as part of other global measures taken for the common good of all nations of the world to curb the proliferation of the novel virus.

“The ICA affirms that the decision stems from the UAE’s deep sense of responsibility and diligent efforts in collaboration with other countries of the world to fight the coronavirus pandemic and survive this ongoing crisis,” the statement concluded.

WAM/Hatem Mohamed/Hassan Bashir

Source: https://wam.ae/en/details/1395302830665 

Travellers scrambled to rebook flights and global markets reeled on Thursday after US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping restrictions on travel from Europe, hitting battered airlines and further straining ties with the continent.

Trump ordered travel from Europe to the United States restricted for 30 days, responding to mounting pressure to take action against a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak disrupting nearly all corners of US daily life.

“We are marshalling the full power of the federal government and the private sector to protect the American people,” Trump said in a prime-time televised address from the Oval Office on Wednesday.

“This is the most aggressive and comprehensive effort to confront a foreign virus in modern history.”

The travel order, which starts at midnight on Friday, does not apply to Britain, or to Americans undergoing “appropriate screenings,” Trump said.

After triggering confusion by suggesting trade with Europe would also be suspended, Trump clarified that “trade will in no way be affected.”

“The restriction stops people not goods,” he said on Twitter moments after his speech.

The surprise restrictions sent financial markets tumbling, with Euro Stoxx 50 futures plunging 8.3 percent to their lowest levels since mid-2016. US stock futures were down more than four percent.

“Already we know the economic impact is significant, and with this additional measure on top it’s just going to multiply the impact across businesses,” said Khoon Goh, head of Asia Research at ANZ in Singapore. “This is something that markets had not factored in … it’s a huge near-term economic cost.”

Trump said his government had been in frequent contact with US allies about the restriction, but European Union officials were not notified about it ahead of time, said one diplomat.

“There was no heads-up, no coordination as the president claimed,” said the diplomat, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The restrictions will heap more pressure on airlines already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, hitting European carriers the hardest, analysts said.

FINANCIAL RELIEF

Washington, DC, resident Michelle Cravez, 30, who is visiting her brother in Prague, quickly rebooked a ticket home.

“It quickly became apparent that demand was pushing costs up and seats were going fast,” she said in a Twitter conversation with a Reuters reporter. “Shortly after, we find out that this ruling may not apply to citizens.

“Still, with everything so fluid – who knows whether flights start getting cancelled – we decided to bite the bullet and book a new itinerary that got us home before the deadline.”

In an effort to lessen the economic impact of the outbreak and the restrictions, Trump instructed the Treasury Department to defer tax payments without interest or penalties for certain business and individuals hit by the health crisis.

The president also said he would take emergency action to provide financial relief for workers who are ill, quarantined or caring for others due to coronavirus. And he said he was directing the Small Business Administration to provide capital and liquidity to firms affected coronavirus, including low-interest loans.

In Australia, the government said it would pump A$17.6 billion ($11.4 billion) into the economy to try to stop the coronavirus outbreak triggering a recession.

A senior ruling party lawmaker in Japan said it must brainstorm plans for dealing with cancelled or postponed Tokyo Olympic Games, even if that is unlikely.

SPORTS, SCHOOLS DISRUPTED

Trump’s travel order, which applies to 26 European countries, capped a day of mounting upheavals on the domestic front from the highly contagious respiratory illness, also known as Covid-19.

In the hard-hit Seattle area, the largest public school district in Washington state announced an unprecedented two-week suspension of all classes.

The greater Seattle area is the epicentre of the deadliest, and one of the largest, clusters of coronavirus infections in the United States, accounting for the bulk of at least 38 US fatalities from the disease.

Washington state has documented 373 coronavirus cases, including 30 deaths. There were 1,311 cases in total in the United States, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

The city of San Francisco banned non-essential social events of 1,000 people or more, and major sports competitions were affected.

The National Basketball Association said it was suspending the season until further notice after a Utah Jazz player tested positive for the coronavirus while the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) said its wildly popular “March Madness” basketball tournament games would be played in arenas without fans.

Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks announced on Twitter that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for coronavirus in Australia, where he was on a film shoot.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the annual St Patrick’s Day parade would be postponed, following several other cities that have likewise scrubbed their March 17 holiday celebrations.

Source: https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/news/world/Trump-restricts-travel-from-Europe-over-coronavirus/4259366-5488114-ixvuin/index.html

 

The cancellation of major international conferences slated for this month over fears of coronavirus (Covid-19) has dealt a major blow to the tourism sector.

This is coupled with lower arrival numbers for Moi International Airport (MIA), the country’s tourism hub, in December last year, sending the sector into panic.

The latest data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that arrivals at the Mombasa airport slumped by more than 6,000 passengers during the December 2019 peak season compared to the previous year.

Tourism stakeholders are now warning of worse projections this year due to the virus threat globally.

Arrivals at MIA, Kenya’s second-largest airport, dropped from 18,403 in 2018 to 12,373 in 2019. The numbers are expected to drop even further in the first two months of this year, as travellers call off plans over the illness.

Three major conferences planned for this month in Mombasa and Diani have been called off, prompting over 600 cancellations, even after advance preparations had been initiated. This has led to uncertainty in the hospitality industry.

Apart from the cancelled meetings, others have been postponed and the fate of other conferences is yet to be known.

With virus denting returns in the hospitality sector, hotel owners now want the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) to be flexible to all the businesses that have loans.

Hosting prestigious global events could have cushioned them during this low season, the players said.

Pride Inn Paradise Beach Resort and Spa in Shanzu was set to host the 63rd Airport Council International (ACI) from March 14 to 20. But the 400-guest event was cancelled at the last minute.

ACI is a non-profit organisation representing the world’s airports.

The delegates from more than 20 countries, including Canada, Morocco, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Madagascar, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire, Dubai and Mozambique, were expected to troop to Mombasa to discuss the air transport industry.

Senegal and South Africa have reported cases of Covid-19. Nigeria has also confirmed cases of the virus, which has affected more than 90,000 people and killed over 3,000 globally.

“We have had a few cancellations and postponing the meetings especially those involving international delegates due to the virus,” Pride Inn managing director Hasnain Noorani said.

Speaking to the Nation by phone, Mr Noorani said his hotel had received cancellations of “other, small meetings” due to the government’s directive.

Lower revenues

Mr Noorani said his hotel has witnessed about four or five lunch meetings cancelled.

“Cancelling the meetings translates to reduced revenues. The fact that the meetings were slated for March and we had done much of our planning, puts us in uncertainty, we don’t know how to handle things,” he said.

Mr Noorani says he had planned the costs, and put up security and software in place. He said this was a hard time in the industry.

He said a meeting stakeholders had with Tourism and Wildlife Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala on Friday last week was to mitigate the financial repercussions.

Mr Noorani urged journalists to be sensitive when reporting on the coronavirus threats.

“In the meeting, we discussed how we can involve the KBA to see how they can reduce or be flexible to all businesses that have loans. We are also trying to work with the government to sensitise the masses on the disease,” Mr Noorani added.

Serena Beach Hotel and Spa general manager Herman Mwasaghua said the virus has caused a crisis in the hospitality sector.

“That meeting involving foreigners was expected to be a boost as the delegates had booked a number of hotels outside the venue. This is a big blow, it is biting — the effect is so significant because a number of cancellations have been witnessed. We have lost three groups of business people from China and South Africa who have cancelled their meeting” he said.

‘Tough scenario’

Mr Mwasaghua said delegates to the forums had booked over 50 rooms at his hotel.

“Others just cancelled yesterday, we have had to adjust but it is a tough scenario for us. We were to have a group of about 40 people from different countries, who were to stay here for almost a week but they have cancelled until further notice,” Mr Mwasaghua said, adding that Africa is lucky the infection has not been widespread, giving hope to industry players.

Mr Mwasaghua said some of his clients said their airlines are flying airplnes half-empty.

Other delegates who were expected in the meeting are Mr Alex Gitari, acting managing director for Kenya Airports Authority; Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia; his Tourism and Wildlife counterpart Najib Balala; Dr Dirk Glaesser, the director of the Department of Sustainable Development of Tourism; Capt Gilbert Kibe, director-general of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority; and other aviation experts from more than 10 countries.

But the Hoteliers, led by Kenya Association of Hotelkeepers and Caterers executive officer Sam Ikwaye, said the cancellations will affect businesses and the airline sector because conferences support other businesses, including airlines.

Meanwhile, the government has set up more than 100 hospital beds in preparation for possible coronavirus cases.

Health ministry Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has assured the public that health workers are well prepared to stop the spread of the virus. No case has tested positive for the virus.

“We have trained over 1,100 health workers, we have deployed them to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and other areas. We are also sensitising and cascading this training all the way to the community levels. We have procured sufficient personal protective equipment,” Mr Kagwe said.

Mbagathi Hospital has set up 120 beds for potential cases.

The virus’ slow arrival to Africa has given governments more time to set up testing and treatment centres, with the help of the World Health Organization and other groups.

The deadly virus is believed to have emanated from an outdoor food market in the city of Wuhan, China.

Source: https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Coronavirus–Tourism-sector-feels-pinch/1056-5486418-v97vtw/index.html

As the world grapples with the spread of coronavirus, Uganda will require travellers from worst hit countries to stay in quarantine for two weeks at their cost.

Health minister Jane Aceng on Sunday said the order affects both foreigners and citizens.

The most affected countries are China, Spain, France, Italy, Iran, Germany and South Korea.

Uganda’s order comes in the wake of Saudi Arabia imposing a temporary lockdown on its eastern Qatif province, which has population of more than 600,000, to prevent spread of coronavirus.

At the same time, some 70 people were on Sunday trapped under a collapsed five-storey coronavirus quarantine facility in China, the State Media reported.

Four people died after the hotel collapsed in Quanzhou. By dawn on Sunday, 47 individuals had been rescued, according to state media outlet People’s Daily.

Uganda’s Aceng further added that the move to quarantine travellers will shield Uganda from covid-19 spread.

A local daily reported the minister as having said “Uganda remains at high risk of importation of coronavirus from the affected countries. This is mainly due to travel, trade and social linkages with affected countries as Uganda maintains an open border policy.”

The World Health Organisation has called the spread of the coronavirus ‘deeply concerning’.

Todate, some 3,483 have died and 101,828 people infected with coronavirus.

The symptoms include a cough, flu and respiratory complications.

After 14 days without exhibiting further symptoms of coronavirus, one is declared free of it.

Uganda, like Kenya, has suspended international conferences to stop covid-19 spread.

The Ugandan government will check mass gatherings including burials and weddings, but the Health minister did not expound how that would be undertaken.

On March 6, the Health ministry led by CS Mutahi Kagwe resorted to sending coronavirus information via SMS.

It is still unclear how often text messages will be sent out in future and whether subscribers other than Safaricom will receive the SMS.

The national government has banned all conferences of international nature with more than 15 people for 30 days as a precautionary measure against Coronavirus.

The move is part of the government’s plan to improve preparedness through heightened surveillance.

The Health ministry has also temporarily lifted the ban on Italian flights to Kenya to evacuate Italian Citizens from Kenya.

Kenya has investigated 23 alerts involving 31 suspected cases that have all tested negative for Covid-19.

Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna on Sunday said a patient who had been suspected to be infected by the coronavirus and died tested negative for the virus.

The unidentified patient died in an isolation ward at  MP Shah Hospital.

Oguna said the government is further nvestigating how the patient’s details were leaked to the public.

“The Ministry of Health will continue to respond to any alerts as they are reported through the various established channels.”

CS Kagwe said so far a National Contingency Plan to guide response activities has been established in all counties.

He also announced that there will be mandatory screening at all entry points to ensure the country is free from coronavirus.

Source: https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001363408/uganda-to-quarantine-travellers-at-their-own-cost-to-stop-coronavirus-spread

 

British Airways said it has cancelled its flights to Italy on Tuesday after the country implemented a lockdown to control the deadly coronavirus epidemic.

Asked by AFP to confirm reports that it had axed all of its Italy flights for Tuesday, a BA spokeswoman replied: “Yes, today we have.”

BA added in a statement that it had “contacted all customers who are due to travel today”.

The company, which is owned by London-listed International Airlines Group, said passengers could rebook flights scheduled up to April 4.

Budget airline Ryanair followed suit announcing that all international flights to and from Italy would be cancelled from Saturday until April 9th.

Any passengers needing to return home can do so if they switch to a flight operating before Saturday.

British rival EasyJet added that it was in the process of cancelling “all of its existing scheduled flights touching Italy between 10 March and 3 April” following the restrictions by the Italian authorities.

“We will be operating rescue flights for passengers wishing to travel for essential, work, health or repatriation reasons to and from Italy,” it added.

French flag carrier Air France said it was suspending all flights to Italy from March 14 to April 3 due to the coronavirus outbreak in France’s neighbour.

The company said in a statement that it would be maintaining one flight a day to all its destinations in Italy up until March 14 to allow customers to travel if they needed.

Ryanair blamed the Italian government’s decision taken on Monday night to put the whole country under lockdown.

“Ryanair apologises sincerely to all customers for these schedule disruptions, which are caused by national government restrictions and the latest decision of the Italian government to lock down the entire country to combat the Covid-19 virus,” a statement from the airline said.

The Italian government has imposed unprecedented nationwide restrictions on its 60 million people as it desperately attempts to halt the progress of the fatal COVID-19 disease.

Source: https://www.thelocal.it/20200310/british-airways-and-ryanair-cancel-flights-to-italy

 

BARCELONA – Mind Analytics, a Spanish start-up specialising in data analytics to optimise decision making in the tourism industry, has launched the first tool in the travel industry that combines AI, Machine Learning and Big Data, designed to improve the conversion of hotel distribution wholesalers. The Travel Intelligence Engine (Travel/ie) solution captures, processes and analyses data in real time and uses that knowledge to improve distribution, detect errors and behaviour patterns, in order to improve the distribution of available product inventory and adapt offers to your customers.

This is technology developed in Spain which combines the advantages of advanced descriptive analytics, artificial intelligence and automated learning. The combination of these three functionalities allows you to better understand the tourism market and give an immediate response, optimising conversion by up to 30%.

Thanks to  the analysis of customers and supplier data in real time, Travel/ie is a powerful tool to optimise the management of products offered by wholesalers.  For example, it allows you to know the most requested destinations and dates, analyse the remaining rooms and, in turn, measure the infrastructure performance in detail or even detect integration and data mapping errors through an alarm system.

In this way, distributors can identify when a product is not being displayed correctly, detect a problem with a customer’s request for a reservation, even a failure in network performance, and act immediately to avoid losing revenue.

For Joaquin Orono, CEO of the company, “Decisions based on real data are key to addressing the challenges of the tourism industry. Up to now, this process of analysis and interpretation of the data offered by Travel Intelligence Engine was done manually, an inefficient practice in terms of resource consumption that also generates errors. Therefore, we wanted to develop a state-of-the-art technological product that was the lever that companies in the tourism industry needed to optimise their profitability.”

Mind Analytics has developed Travel/ie so wholesalers such as bed banks can manage large volumes of data. However, the data intelligence platform is expected to diversify to other segments of the travel industry such as hotels, travel agencies, car rental companies and airlines.

Integration with the company system
The implementation of Travel/ie is carried out in a short time frame and does not affect each distributor’s individual platform. Therefore, it integrates naturally with the system. First, the information relevant to the company is identified and a data collector is set up. Travel/ie obtains only the data necessary to optimise the business and does so in a non-invasive way, so that a panel adapted to the needs of the company is created.

To develop the integration, comparison and analysis of data, Travel/ie uses market leading technologies such as Google Cloud and Looker.

Source: https://www.traveldailynews.com/post/mind-analytics-creates-the-first-technology-platform-for-the-travel-industry-that-combines-ai-machine-learning-and-big-data