For any family, NHS or frontline worker that has been adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and needs a break, as part of the nation’s emotional and wellbeing recovery from the pandemic, the national charity (England & Wales) wants to give away free holidays to families in your area. 

The breaks have been funded from donations from members of the public to YHA’s Project90 appeal which was launched as part of the youth hostelling charity’s 90th anniversary celebrations.  

Donations to date will enable YHA to fund a total of 400 much-needed family breaks across England and Wales. 

Conscious that fewer people can now afford a break because of the pandemic, YHA particularly wants to hear from families that have been financially impacted in the crisis and are in need of some quality family time together. 

Family time together on holiday is more important than ever. In a survey* conducted by the 90 year old charity, it was found that more than three quarters (77%) of parents believe that an annual family holiday is important in order to spend more time with their family (78%), however 12% of survey respondents had not been able to take a family holiday at all in the last three years.

While the free breaks are being rolled out, fundraising for YHA’s Project90 campaign continues. YHA hopes to raise a further £120,000 to give breaks to 500 more families in need of rest, recuperation or spending quality time away together. The breaks are available at YHA’s network of youth hostels in England and Wales in both coastal and rural locations. 

The 153-strong network of youth hostels, which were closed during lockdown, re-opened on the 17 July with a pledge from the charity to play a key role in the recovery of society by helping people reconnect with each other, the outdoors, nature, culture and heritage. 

James Blake, Chief Executive of YHA (England & Wales) explained: “The pandemic has put enormous financial and emotional strain on many people and has left a number of NHS and frontline workers and families suffering hardship. A break away together can make all the difference to these families and be an important part of their wellbeing recovery. It will give them valuable time together to reconnect in the outdoors as well as have fun in the process.

“I very much hope that people will get in touch with us and either put themselves forward for a break or nominate a family that they feel would benefit from spending some quality time together.”
 
To donate to YHA’s Project90 campaign and help it reach even more families, visit: getinvolved.yha.org.uk/fundraising/appeals/project90/
 

Qatar Airways has announced significant updates to its mobile app that allow passengers to plan their travel with greater ease, helping minimize physical contact and interactions throughout their journey. Members of Qatar Airways Privilege Club will earn 1,000 Qmiles when they download the mobile app.

With an updated, intuitively designed look and feel, the Qatar Airways mobile app now presents a personalised home screen that provides the most relevant information to each user. For those with an upcoming flight, the mobile app’s existing ‘My Trips’ feature will now be displayed on the home screen, highlighting the most important information at each stage of their journey. For those without a current booking, special offers will be displayed, tailored to their location. Additionally, the mobile app is now available in the Arabic language, demonstrating the airline’s commitment to Arabic-speaking customers around the world.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our refreshed mobile app is the perfect travel companion for our passengers, allowing them to take control of their travel plans, keep them informed at all times and, importantly in the current climate, limit physical contact throughout their journey.

“At Qatar Airways, we continue to invest in award-winning, five-star products and services across all stages of our customers’ journey, and digital technology plays an important role in this. Our customers expect their digital interactions with the Qatar Airways brand to be as smooth and seamless as their journey onboard, and we are working to ensure that our digital products continue to be world-class.”

With the airline’s mobile app’s ‘MyTrips’ feature, now prominently presented on the home screen, passengers can select their preferred seat and meals in advance, check-in online, download their boarding pass to a mobile wallet, and generate a baggage tag to print and attach to their luggage at home. Passengers can also enable notifications through the mobile app to receive important alerts about their upcoming flight’s departure times, check-in, boarding and baggage collection. Throughout the passenger’s journey, the mobile app can be used to track baggage and book Meet and Assist services at Hamad International Airport in Doha.

Other features of Qatar Airways’ mobile app will continue to be offered to its customers. Before travel, customers can use the mobile app to check the latest information on country and travel requirements, including visa and passport information.

Providing seamless booking options, the mobile app also includes a camera tool, allowing passengers to capture a photo of their passport or payment card without having to manually enter this information upon check out. Meanwhile, members of Qatar Airways’ loyalty programme, Privilege Club, can use the app to seamlessly log in with  fingerprint or facial recognition, book a trip using Cash + Qmiles, redeem Privilege Club awards, manage their accounts, and much more. Customers can download the mobile app at qatarairways.com/App.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. Its home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), was named ‘Third Best Airport in the World’ by the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020.

To ensure travellers can plan their travel with peace of mind in the current climate, the airline has extended its booking policies to offer even more choice to its passengers. The airline allows unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original one. The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply. All tickets booked for travel up to 31 December 2020 will be valid for two years from the date of issuance.

Additionally, Qatar Airways has robust onboard safety measures in place for passengers and cabin crew. The airline has introduced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew which includes gloves, face masks, safety glasses and a new protective gown that is fitted over their uniforms. A modified service that reduces interactions between passengers and the crew inflight has also been introduced. Onboard, all Qatar Airways passengers are now provided with a complimentary protective kit.

Inside a ziplock pouch they will find a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel.

The airline has also introduced disposable face shields for adults and children.

A solar-powered scarecrow that mimics the calls of a hawk is being used to ward off birds causing delays to passengers travelling between Manchester and London Euston.

Large numbers of birds have been damaging the electric arms of Avanti West Coast’s Pendolino trains and overhead line equipment giving them power at Alstom depot in Longsight, Manchester.

Now Network Rail and the train operator has installed the device which humanely scares the birds away while protecting them from potential electrocution. Ridding the depot of birds means long-distance trains will stop being unexpectedly damaged, potentially taking them out of services or delayed in the depot while repairs are made. This will mean better journeys for commuters, holiday-makers and business people in future.

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “As we start to welcome back passengers back on to North West railways, they want to know their services are reliable and on time. Birds at Alstom’s depot have become a real nuisance but this solution is a win win, protecting both the wildlife and the trains from harm.

“The electronic scarecrow is one of many methods we’re deploying across the North West to make our infrastructure more reliable, so we can deliver on-time train services that people of the North West can be proud of.”

Operations director at Avanti West Coast, Nick Westcott, said: “We’re always exploring new initiatives to make our route resilient to various scenarios and customers’ journeys more reliable. Birds can delay our trains or cause damage to them and the overhead wires, so working with Network Rail to install an electronic scarecrow will help to deter birds from the railway – improving the reliability of our customers’ journeys between Manchester and London.”

It’s thought birds are roosting on top of overhead line equipment and stationary trains because there is a recycling centre nearby.

When they fly or drop twigs on to electrical equipment, their wing spans can cause the cables to trip, leading to a loss of power and the bird’s death.
The £2000 equipment was successfully trialled and installed by Network Rail’s Manchester Maintenance Delivery unit team. 

Since December last year Avanti West Coast has experienced a total of 20 incidents across the North West relating to birds on overhead lines or being struck by trains.

This caused delays of more than nine hours for passengers (a total of 562 minutes).

Puerto Rico's plans to encourage more tourism from the U.S. mainland have backfired as the number of COVID-19 cases has spiked at the same time that the island has attracted more visitors, it was reports from the island.

Days after Puerto Rico launched a campaign to promote that the island would "formally reopen for inbound tourism on July 15" with new safety mandates for visitors, Gov. Wanda Vázquez pushed the date to Aug. 15. She also rolled back multiple reopening efforts, ordering bars, gyms, marinas, theatres and casinos to close down again until July 31.

The governor announced other rollbacks, including prohibiting alcohol sales after 7 p.m., limiting restaurant capacity to 50 percent and restricting beach access only to those who are exercising. A 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew will also remain, the NBC report continues.

Multiple social media videos went viral over the weekend, showing tourists fighting at the main international airport and violating mask mandates, as well as social distancing rules.

Puerto Rico was initially praised for being one of the first U.S. jurisdictions to put drastic measures in place, such as implementing an island-wide curfew and banning cruise ships, as well as closing schools and all nonessential businesses, to avoid overwhelming the island's fragile health care system in March.

But a recent surge in COVID-19 cases has coincided with Puerto Rico's efforts to reopen nonessential businesses and tourist attractions. Over the past week, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped by more than 1,000, while the number of probable cases increased by almost 1,300.

Qatar Airways is pleased to announce the resumption of services to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) - Nairobi, Kenya with 14 weekly flights and to Kigali International Airport (KGL) - Kigali, Rwanda with three weekly flights. With the addition of Kigali and Nairobi, the airline now operates 33 weekly flights to eight destinations in Africa including Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Djibouti, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar and Tunis.

Being one of the largest passenger carriers during the pandemic with a promised steady schedule that never dropped below 30 destinations, the national carrier to the State of Qatar connects many passengers seamlessly via its award-winning home and hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA) to key destinations via its rapidly expanding network including Europe, Americas, Asia and Pacific via Doha.  
Qatar Airways has a strong relationship with Kenya and Rwanda with almost 15 years of operations to Nairobi and eight years of operations to Kigali. The award-winning airline began scheduled services from Nairobi on 15 November 2005 followed by Kigali on 24 March 2012 and Mombasa on 9 December 2018.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are delighted to resume flights to Nairobi and Kigali, totalling our flights to 33 weekly flights into Africa with eight destinations. Qatar Airways continues to maintain an expanding schedule with now more than 500 weekly flights to over 75 destinations. During the pandemic, Qatar Airways have become the largest global carrier to maintain its schedule in taking people home with the highest safety measures. Our wide network of flights during these challenging times has ensured we have kept up to date with the latest in international airport procedures. We also implemented the most advanced safety & hygiene measures on board our aircraft and in our home and hub at Hamad International Airport which was recently voted the Best Airport in the Middle East for the sixth year in a row.

“Qatar Airways has been the most reliable airline during the pandemic and will continue to ensure its promised five-star service and hospitality is delivered across its network. We hope to see many people come visit Kenya and Rwanda and explore the world’s stunning wildlife and more.”
During COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways Cargo continued operating its scheduled twice-weekly with A330 freighters and four times weekly with Boeing 777 freighters to Nairobi along with freight charters. These flights provided much required capacity, supporting exporters and importers and bringing in essential medical supplies. With the resumption of passenger flights to Nairobi, the cargo carrier will operate 20 flights in total, offering more than 700 tonnes of cargo capacity each week, each way.

Qatar Airways has further enhanced its onboard safety measures for passengers and cabin crew. The airline has introduced Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for cabin crew which includes gloves, face masks, safety glasses and a new protective gown that is fitted over their uniforms. A modified service that reduces interactions between passengers and the crew inflight has also been introduced. 

Onboard, all Qatar Airways passengers are now provided with a complimentary protective kit. Inside a ziplock pouch they will find a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel. The airline has also introduced disposable face shields for adults and children. Passengers travelling from Hamad International Airport (HIA) will receive their face shields at the check-in counters, whereas at other destinations, the face shields will be distributed at the boarding gates.

To ensure travellers can plan their travel with peace of mind, the airline has extended its booking policies to offer even more choice to its passengers. The airline will allow unlimited date changes, and passengers can change their destination as often as they need if it is within 5,000 miles of the original destination.

The airline will not charge any fare differences for travel completed before 31 December 2020, after which fare rules will apply. 

Gustavo Segura Sancho

The President of Costa Rica, Mr. Carlos Alvarado Quesada, has appointed Gustavo Segura Sancho as the country’s new Tourism Minister and Executive President of the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), replacing María Amalia Revelo Raventós as head of the department.
 
Gustavo Segura Sancho has a degree in Economics from the University of Costa Rica and an MBA in Sustainable Development from the prestigious INCAE Business School. His professional career includes extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. He spent seven years in the hotel industry as well as six years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), five of them as its Vice President.
 
Due to his vast experience in sustainable tourism, Segura Sancho was a key player in the implementation of Costa Rica’s Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST). The CST categorises companies based on the degree to which they adhere to sustainable practices – a pioneering programme launched by Costa Rica in 1997 and backed by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
 
Three clear areas are the main priorities for Gustavo Segura Sancho as Tourism Minister: the return of international flights gradually and safely; the implementation of tools to ease the financial difficulties of tourism companies; and the execution of measures to reactivate the economy.
 
“It is a great honour to serve Costa Rica as its new Tourism Minister, a position that comes with even a higher responsibility at this time due to the complex situation caused by Covid-19, a pandemic that has been particularly harmful to the tourism industry. It is my wish and task that Costa Rica remains a key global tourism player,” Gustavo Segura Sancho said.
 
The now former Tourism Minister, María Amalia Revelo Raventós, handed over her position to the President last week due to health reasons.