Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused considerable turbulence for the Dubreuil Aéro group, which has Air Caraïbes and its long-haul low-cost sister French Bee under its wing. Passenger traffic plummeted by 40% in 2020 (*), impacted in particular by the closure of Orly from 31 March to 26 June, then...

While vaccination campaigns are now well under way in many countries, at a more or less sustained pace, the idea of a vaccination passport is gaining ground here and there. Israel, a model in this field, intends to issue a "green passport" to its citizens just after they have received their second dose of vaccine. The passport will last...

In addition to announcing the introduction of a curfew from 6pm throughout France, to avoid further confinement as far as possible, Prime Minister Jean Castex has announced reinforced border control measures. From Monday 18 January, all travellers arriving from outside the...

According to a new order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is managing health security in the wake of the covid-19 crisis, all passengers travelling to the United States will have to present a negative test before boarding a flight. The measure also applies to US citizens returning to their own country. The test cannot be...

Like many players in the MICE segment, Hilton is responding to the growing demand for meetings and events in hybrid formats. The American group has just announced the roll-out of a global programme dedicated to this new trend, featuring a series of offerings called Hilton EventReady Hybrid Solutions. The first deployments of Hilton EventReady Hybrid...

The new strain of the virus and the spread of the pandemic are leading to a collapse in air, sea and rail traffic between the UK and Europe. A company like Ryanair has just indicated that it expects to carry between 26 and 30 million passengers over the 12 months to March 2021. This compares with the usual 160 million passengers....

How is the Onomo Group and its 21 hotels across Africa coping with the health crisis? Cédric Guilleminot - While the African leisure and top-of-the-range hotel industry has suffered as a result of the health restrictions imposed by governments, our mid-range and business positioning has enabled us to get through this...

After three-quarters of 2020, what do you expect for the convention and events sector in 2021? Philippe Augier - The situation is serious, because after almost ten months of business interruption due to administrative closures and regular regulatory instability, the events sector as a whole is very much under threat. Above all, it is...

"2021 is still likely to be a complex, transitional year. Vaccines will be a very important step in controlling the pandemic without waiting for it to end naturally, but they will not immediately signal a return to normal. We're only at the very beginning of the story. If the first vaccines prove...

Obviously, it's difficult to make any predictions after such a turbulent 2020. But can you give us a broad outline of what you expect for 2021? Olivier Cohn - We're expecting 2021 to be a difficult year. Unfortunately, this pandemic is not yet behind us. The return to...

How has the health crisis affected your business travel? Noellie Jacquet - Normally, I travel one week a month to Dubai, where our secondary office is based, the main office being in Lyon. I didn't cancel anything during the crisis, especially as, given the lack of visibility, I booked flights...

What will you take away from 2020? Stéphane Durand - For all of us, 2020 has been like sailing through uncharted waters. But our industry has shown its resilience and agility. In an unprecedented context, with a forced slowdown, many have been able to transform themselves to support the profession, their customers, their...

Faced with the boom in video-conferencing solutions and the constraints on event organisation, the hotel industry is stepping up the introduction of hybrid meeting solutions. Melia Hotels turns its attention to hybrid events The Spanish group Melia Hotels has announced the launch of its 'Melia Hybrid Solutions', a range of technological solutions for hybrid meetings...

Vaccination, digital health passports: new obligations should govern business travel in the months and even years to come. A vaccine to revive travel in the age of covid The announcement by the American laboratory Pfizer and the German laboratory BionTech of an effective 90% vaccine against covid-19 should enable the travel industry...

Since 29 December, travellers from the European Union travelling to the Netherlands must be able to show a negative result to the COVID-19 test if they are coming from a high-risk area of the EU/Schengen Area. This provision applies to travellers arriving by air, ferry, international intercity train or coach. However, it excludes...

According to the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi), the Emirate reopened its doors to international travellers on 24 December. However, visitors must follow very strict entry procedures. According to the Department of Health, stringent health measures are required to ensure the safety of...

Biometrics, contactless applications, self check-in: the pandemic is accelerating the digitalisation of the passenger journey in planes and airports. Robots and biometrics for the post-covid era Contactless technology, biometrics, robots: spurred on by the pandemic, the digitalisation of the passenger journey is gathering pace (13 October 2020). Digital technology to the rescue of passengers The ACI (Airports...

Coworking and business centre operators, like all sectors, are being affected by the economic crisis, and are putting the spotlight on their flexible offerings that are just as suited to this period of crisis as they are to new nomadic working habits. Bird Office advocates teleworking in coworking mode In response to changing demand, Bird Office is rethinking its positioning by...

That was all it took for Japan to pull out the big guns to protect itself from the coronavirus. No sooner had the UK and several European countries announced that they had identified a more contagious covid virus, than Japan returned to splendid isolation. Japan is banning the entry of all non-resident foreign nationals....

In Asia, Singapore and Thailand are among the countries most in need of reopening their borders. For completely different reasons. Singapore is the commercial and financial hub of the whole of South-East Asia. The country therefore needs to re-anchor itself to international movements. The Thai economy, on the other hand, is heavily dependent...