Covid-19

South Africa: travellers from countries affected by the coronavirus can no longer enter the country. Algeria: closure of all air and sea links with France from 19 March. Saudi Arabia: total suspension of passenger arrivals. Argentina: travellers from countries affected by the...

In the air, Air France, Lufthansa, Easyjet and Eurowings are continuing to operate flights between the two countries, but on a reduced timetable. For example, on 18 March, Lufthansa is offering four daily flights to Frankfurt and Munich from Paris CDG and five daily flights from Lyon (two to Frankfurt and three to Munich). Air France...

New measures were unveiled over the weekend to counter the spread of the coronavirus in France. In addition to the closure of all "places open to the public which are not essential to the life of the country", decreed by the Prime Minister on Saturday evening, measures relating to transport are gradually coming into force. Elisabeth Borne and Jean-Baptiste...

The borders are completely open, and all trains between France and Germany - particularly on the two major routes Paris-Strasbourg-Germany and Paris-Metz-Sarrebruck-Germany - are fully operational. Nor is there any interruption to traffic on the regional TER line linking Strasbourg to Bale CFF in Switzerland or the line linking Mulhouse to...

The Czech Republic began taking strict measures against the pandemic a few days ago, closing schools, universities, theatres and museums. The Czech government is now taking another step towards locking down the country by declaring a state of emergency. At midnight on the night of 12-13 March, the Czech Republic...

In Europe, the measure mainly concerns Italians or travellers from Italy, for the time being. Austria, Georgia, Moscow and Thailand, for example, now require a certificate of non-contamination for Italians. While the number of cases is rising in other European countries, including France - though not to the...

From Friday 13 March, the United States will suspend for 30 days all travellers arriving from the Schengen area, or who have stayed in this area during the last 14 days. This measure will initially apply to 26 countries, including France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland, as well as Iceland, France, Italy and Poland....

The first estimates of the impact of the coronavirus on business travel are starting to come in. And to no great surprise, the spread of Covid-19 has frozen business travel worldwide. On Tuesday, the Union of French Airports (UAF) estimated the fall in traffic at 20%. This figure is in line with the estimates published on Wednesday by Expensya. On the...

The most spectacular measure taken in Austria concerns the almost total closure of the borders with Italy. Travellers will be turned away in both directions, with flights and rail links now completely suspended. Rail traffic will come to a halt on the evening of Tuesday 10 March. Trains travelling from other European countries will now have to stop at the Italian border.

Europe Since 4 May, it has been compulsory to wear a mask when travelling on the Eurostar and Thalys networks, on pain of denied boarding or a fine. The extension of the state of health emergency in France until 24 July will involve quarantining travellers wishing to visit France, including French nationals. This...

A flat in Milan near Corso Buenos Aires for €30 a night on 19 March instead of the usual €100, another flat for €72 near the Grand-Place in Brussels on the same dates... Bargains galore on the Airbnb website. The coronavirus effect is not reflected...

On February 19, a press release from UFI, the Union of International Fairs, indicated that, according to the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the national authorities, the cancellation of major trade fairs and events in Europe, America, the Middle East and large parts of Asia was premature. Clear instructions had to be given...

Korean Air has just announced massive cuts to its flight schedule in response to the Covid-19 epidemic. In Europe, the airline has suspended flights to Milan and Zagreb, as well as services to Tel Aviv. Flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Vienna and Istanbul are being maintained, but the frequency has been revised to...

Not surprisingly, the international spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus is prompting companies to take drastic precautions. This was recently demonstrated by the trade fair sector, where major events such as the Geneva Motor Show and the ITB Berlin Tourism Fair were cancelled. This principle of...

From the point of view of business travellers, the main information to be retained from the press release published on Friday by Brussels Airlines concerns the airline's offer on the Italian market. As of 2 March, the Belgian carrier will be reducing the number of flights it offers to Northern Italy to 30% for the next two months.

What rights do passengers have if a flight is cancelled because of the coronavirus? Baptiste Lo-Presti - If the airline cancels a flight because of the coronavirus, the passenger is automatically entitled to a refund. On the other hand, if the passenger himself decides to abandon his flight,...

With each passing day, the death toll from coronavirus infection in China rises. But the next major victim could be... an airline. Bloomberg reported last week that China will be stepping up to the plate to help its air transport sector, which has been hard hit by the coronavirus crisis. The Chinese...

EUROPE In Italy, on the morning of 25 February, the airports of Milan Linate, Milan Malpensa, Bergamo and Venice remained open to air traffic, despite the peak in the number of Covid-19 cases detected last weekend. Security measures have been in place at Italy's main airports since the end of January, including a ban on...

Things are moving very fast in Italy, where the number of cases of coronavirus was still being counted on the fingers of one hand on Thursday, and the tally topped 200 on Monday morning. In response to this sudden surge, the Italian authorities have placed around ten towns and cities under quarantine: Codogno, Casapusterlengo, Castiglione...

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has done its sums. The outbreak of the new coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is expected to have a severe impact on aviation activity worldwide, with the epicentre of the crisis obviously being in Asia. The initial assessment of the impact of COVID-19 shows a potential loss of 13 % in passenger demand...