Bali reopens for international tourists but quarantine is still required

Direct international flights to Bali have resumed for the first time in two years as Indonesia opens the resort island to foreign travellers from all countries, but mandatory quarantine remains in place for all visitors.

Officials had said in October 2021 that Bali would welcome foreign arrivals from 19 countries that meet World Health Organization criteria, such as having their COVID-19 cases under control.

But there were no direct international flights to Bali until Thursday, February 3 when Garuda Indonesia operated its first such flight in two years from Tokyo.

Bali reopens to foreign visitors from all countries but quarantine is still required.

Though the island officially opened to visitors from China, New Zealand, Japan and a few other countries in mid-October, there have been no direct non-cargo flights since then.

The six foreign tourists arriving from Tokyo were travelling using business visas since the new rules for tourists were not ready when they applied to come, said Yustikarini.

Singapore Airlines will introduce a regular direct route to and from Denpasar in Bali starting February 16, said Taufan Yudhistira, the public relations manager at Bali's international airport.

Direct international flights to Bali have resumed for the first time in two years.

Fully vaccinated travellers need to quarantine for five days in a hotel or on a liveaboard boat certified by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, and travellers who have received one dose of COVID-19 vaccine must quarantine for seven days.

The country's latest surge in cases, driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant, has mostly been concentrated in Jakarta, but in recent days infections have “increased significantly” in Java and Bali, said Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the government minister who leads the COVID-19 response in Java and Bali.

The quarantine for foreign arrivals is intended to prevent the further spread of the virus, said Pandjaitan.

Bali's airport accommodated more than 200 international flights with at least one million passengers per day in 2019.

Indonesia is maintaining much stricter quarantine requirements than Southeast Asian neighbours Thailand, which resumed quarantine-free entry for vaccinated visitors and the Philippines, which will do the same from February 10.

ALSO READ - Thailand relaxes entry restrictions as Covid fear fades

Before the pandemic, Bali's airport accommodated more than 200 international flights with at least one million passengers per day in 2019. The island was closed to international flights after COVID-19 hit the world's fourth most populous country in 2020.

Tourism is the main source of income in Bali, which is home to more than 4 million people who are mainly Hindu in the mostly Muslim archipelago nation.

The reopening of Bali to travellers from all countries will help boost the island's economy.

Bali's tourist areas were deserted two decades ago after visitors were scared off by deadly terror attacks that targeted foreigners, but the island has worked to overcome that image.

The reopening of Bali to travellers from all countries will help boost the island's economy, which has been badly affected by the pandemic, Pandjaitan said.

It will also serve as a "trial," said Tourism and Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno, as the government prepares to host G-20 events in Bali later this year.

At a post-budget interaction, on behalf of the civil aviation, travel, tourism, and hospitality sectors, Ajay Singh, Vice-President, ASSOCHAM and Chairman, and Managing Director, SpiceJet raised with the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman the difficulties being faced by these sectors because of Covid.

He requested the Finance Minister to consider granting infrastructure status to these sectors to facilitate lending by banks and financial institutions. He also requested the Ministry of Finance to support the inclusion of Aviation Turbine Fuel under GST.

Ajay Singh, Vice-President, ASSOCHAM and Chairman, and Managing Director, SpiceJet

According to a statement issued by SpiceJet at the meeting, the Finance Minister has promised to consider granting infrastructure/ industry status to help the sectors of civil aviation, travel, tourism, and hospitality.

Sitharaman, in a post-Budget discussion with industry chamber Assocham, said a final decision of inclusion of ATF in GST will be taken by the Council, which comprises finance ministers from central and state governments.

"It is not with ... (the Centre) alone, it has got to go to the GST Council. The next time we meet in the Council, I will put it on the table for them to discuss it," she said. The next meeting of the Council is expected by either in end-February or in March.

Nirmala Sitharaman said that the centre will bring ATF inclusion in GST for discussion in the next Council meet

Sitharaman was responding to views expressed by SpiceJet Founder Ajay Singh where he sought the support of the Union finance minister in bringing ATF under the GST regime.

Currently, the central government levies excise duty on ATF while state governments charge VAT. These taxes, with excise duty, in particular, have been raised periodically with rising oil prices.

She has also assured that she will take up the issue of inclusion of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) under GST at the next meeting of the GST Council.

The Indian travel trade including associations, tour operators, and other stakeholders have also been seeking industry/infrastructure status so that the ailing sector can get tax relief and other benefits to survive the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic which has widely affected travel and tourism-related businesses.

Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the 2022-23 Financial year on February 1 and the announcements didn’t include any substantial relief measures for the civil aviation, travel, tourism sector. The highlight for the sectors was the extension of the ECLG scheme till March 2023 to support the hospitality sector.

In what can be termed as a first of its kind, Lufthansa airlines is now testing a new service that would allow passengers to offset the carbon emissions of their air travel directly onboard. This service, with Internet connectivity, is to be available to all Lufthansa passengers flying to and from Munich on all short- and medium-haul flights.

Representative | Dezeen

How does it work?

Passengers can now choose how to offset the CO2 emissions of their flight via a range of options available through the onboard entertainment system.

The service can be accessed free of charge via the internet available onboard. Using a slider, passengers can navigate to one of three options available for offsetting, namely :

Sustainable Aviation Fuel made from biogenic residueHigh-quality carbon offset projects run by the non-profit organization myclimateCombination of both

Apparently, this new service incorporates the technology of the "Compensaid" platform for CO2-neutral air travel developed by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub in 2019.

Compensaid - Lufthansa Innovation Hub

Compensaid is Lufthansa Group's digital platform for CO2-neutral flying. Having been tested as a prototype in 2019,  integrated into the booking process of the various Lufthansa Group airlines and is also available as an offer for Lufthansa Group's corporate customers via the Compensaid Corporate Program.

Lufthansa Group

Lufthansa Cargo also offers a CO2-neutral freight product based on Compensaid technology.

The digital platform was developed in cooperation with the Lufthansa Group's fuel experts, who purchase the certified fuel globally and feed it into Lufthansa flight operations.

Lufthansa Group

Additionally, the company also has another venture by the name "Squake"- which also offers a CO2 compensation platform enabling travel and transport companies to choose sustainability initiatives from a bank from partners and projects.

The business-to-business platform calculates CO2 emissions of trips and offers ways for them to be offset within the booking process.

The platform is free for sustainability businesses to sign up to and Squake charges a 10% fee on every transaction made by the customers of the travel businesses using it.

We’re really trying to decarbonise everyone in the entire supply and travel chain and that’s a really grand vision which is why I’m excited about it. When you dial it down a little bit, it’s really about building the green backbone for each company in that segmentChristine Wang, managing director of LIH (Lufthansa Innovative Hub)

Christine Wang | KrASIA

There is an opportunity for Squake to help educate the industry, make it more transparent and offer ways to reduce carbon emissions over the next few years-she adds.

Did you know?  JetSetGo, a leading Indian aviation company, is all set to make flight operations carbon neutral by 2024. The company has set up a carbon offsetting programme, in association with  Auroville Consulting, which would assess emissions from ongoing and future operations to quantify the number of credits that need to be purchased from pre-selected socially and environmentally-beneficial carbon offset projects and reduce emissions by implementing innovative technological solutions. The remaining emissions would be neutralized using an active carbon offset strategy.

JetSetGo CEO- Kanika Tekriwal | The Economic Times

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Earth.org

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday, February 6 said that the Centre has elaborate infrastructure development plans for West Bengal including a second airport for Kolkata, but the Mamata Banerjee government has not yet provided land for it.

Mr Scindia claimed he has been asking for a dialogue with the chief minister for six months to set up a second airport since the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport has reached its capacity, but there has been no response from the other side so far.

"We want a new airport to be built in Kolkata, the existing one is at present running at maximum capacity and for several years, letters and views are being exchanged for a new site, but no concrete step has come from the state government," he told reporters at a press conference in Kolkata.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport has reached its capacity.

Maintaining that his ministry has elaborate plans for the development of civil aviation in West Bengal, Mr Scindia asked how to work for the proposed new airport would commence "until the land is made available" to the Airports Authority of India.

"We are investing INR 700 crore for the present (NSCBI) airport. A new technical block cum control tower will be made operational for INR 300 crore," he said, adding that a new taxiway is being built for INR 265 crore.

The minister said that INR 110 crore is being invested for connecting the Metro Railway with the airport terminal building.

The present NSCBI airport has a throughput of 2.5 crore people.

A two-lakh square metre new airport needs to come up to cater to the rising number of passengers to and from this eastern metropolis, he said.

Mr Scindia said that while the present airport has a throughput of 2.5 crore people, the new airport's terminal building should have a throughput of 3.5 crores.

"At present, the airport has 8,600 passenger capacity per day, we want that a new terminal building is built with capacity for 10,000 to 11,000 passengers per day," he said, maintaining that these plans can only be fructified if the state government cooperates and works together.

The West Bengal government has decided to construct a second airport in the vicinity of Kolkata, to decongest the NSCBI Airport, and Bhangar in neighbouring South 24 Parganas district is among the possible locations, an official had said last month.

The situation is similar for Bagdogra airport near Siliguri in north Bengal where the state government was dilly-dallying on handing over land for its augmentation, Mr Scindia claimed.

"The central government has written to the state several times for early handing over of land, but there is no reply... The (state) government is stuck in files," he said. He urged the chief minister to work in tandem with the Centre for the development of the state.

"For the last six months I have been trying to discuss with the chief minister so that we can move forward on these important issues," he said.

Claiming that there is a lack of will in the Mamata Banerjee government, he said how the Centre alone can carry out these projects if the state does not come forward.

Asserting that Ms Banerjee's claim that the common man got zero in the Union Budget for 2022-2023 was far from the truth, Mr Scindia said that the central government will infuse INR 1.5 lakh crore in West Bengal alone in the next three years for infrastructure development.

Mr Scindia claimed that the Trinamool Congress-ruled state's rate of inflation was 8.7% in 2020-21, while the national average was 6.2% for the same period.

The faster, the better- seems to be the motto of the Chinese firm, Space Transportation, which is developing a "rocket with wings" for space tourism and point-to-point travel.

Space Transportation

We are developing a winged rocket for high-speed, point-to-point transportation, which is lower in cost than rockets that carry satellites and faster than traditional aircraft.the company said in a recent interview with Yicheng Times

Basically, a space plane is a vehicle that combines the best of a spacecraft and an aircraft, technically allowing it to function in the atmosphere and space as well.

Apparently, the "spaceplane" being developed by the company can clock 7000 kilometres in an hour at nine times the speed of sound, underlining the ambitious hypersonic capabilities of the vehicle.

According to a video presentation on Space Transportation's website, animated passengers can be seen boarding the spaceplane attached to a wing powered by rockets. The plane detaches from the rocket-powered wing following a vertical take-off and continues its suborbital journey to Dubai in the Middle East, landing vertically on three legs deployed from the rear.

Space Transportation

The Hypersonic Space-plane in the making

Tianxing 1 and Tianxing 2 are the two sub-orbital hypersonic test launch vehicles, launched by the company to conduct preliminary tests, in association with  Tsinghua University’s combustion laboratory.

Tianxing 2 Y4 rocket flight test | Twitter

Owing to the sensitive nature of hypersonic technology, much of the details of the tests are classified as of now.

What is known though is that, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC)- the country's major space contractor, have conducted highly covert launch tests of suborbital and orbital vehicles from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in 2020 and 2021, according to Space.com.

A brief history

Though it might appear as news to some, the Chinese work on hypersonic tech is not entirely new.

Chinese hypersonic wind tunnel | Asian Military Review

Space Transportation announced last August that it had raised USD 46.3 million for its hypersonic space plane plans-a hypersonic airliner that would be capable of transporting about 10 passengers to anywhere in the world in just an hour.

The company has recently been conducting several tests of its Tianxing 1 and Tianxing 2 vehicles and a 10th flight test was conducted on January 23.

There have been many reports with regards to hypersonic developments from the Chinese side, much of which have been rubbished by American experts.

Regardless, reports suggest that test flights are set to take place next year, with the first uncrewed flight in 2024 and the first crewed flight to launch the following year. 

SOURCE(s)

COVER: China Transportation

Airline major InterGlobe Aviation, which operates IndiGo, on Friday, February 4 reported a standalone net profit of INR 130 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2021, due to a rebound in travel demand during the holiday season, though fuel costs surged.

It reported a net loss of INR 620 crore in the year-ago period. Revenue from operations rose 90% to INR 9,295 crore as against INR 4,910 crore in Q3FY21.

The company said its fuel cost in Q3FY22 was at INR 3,269 crore, up 64% on a sequential basis and a 184% jump on an annual basis.

Revenue from operations rose 90% to INR 9,295 crore as against INR 4,910 crore in Q3FY21.

Total debt as of Q3-end was at INR 35,153 crore, up 27% on an annual basis, said the company, which expects Q4FY22 capacity to reduce by around 10%-15% as against Q3FY22.

Indigo's yields grew 19.2% to Rs 4.41 per kilometre at the end of December. Passenger load factor rose to 79.7% from 72% a year ago.

At the end of December 31, Indigo had 283 aircraft on its feet. This consisted of 56 A320 CEOs, 140 A320 NEOs, 52 A321 NEOs and 35 ATRs; a net increase of 4 aircraft during the quarter. It operated a peak of 1,574 daily flights during the quarter including non-scheduled flights.

At the end of December 31, Indigo had 283 aircraft on its feet.

It also provided scheduled services to 71 domestic destinations and various international locations through passenger charters and air bubble flights.

Aircraft fuel expenses surged 186% to Rs 3,269.30 crore while aircraft and engine rentals advanced 98% to Rs 127.30 crore. Total expenses increased 62% to Rs 9346.40 crore. EBITDA margin improved to 21.5% from 20.1% a year ago.

"I am pleased that we were able to report a profit for the third quarter. It demonstrates that our business model is fundamentally strong.Our employees have remained a pillar of strength throughout this health crisis and have steadfastly provided superior service to our customers."Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo

On Friday, February 4, the company's scrip on BSE closed 1.5% higher at INR 1,969.

InterGlobe Aviation's new Managing Director

The company also announced the appointment of its co-founder Rahul Bhatia as the company's Managing Director with immediate effect. The company is the parent of the country’s largest airline IndiGo. Bhatia is the Co-founder and Promoter of InterGlobe Aviation.

"The Board of Directors have unanimously approved the appointment of Rahul Bhatia, currently a Non-Executive Director, as the Managing Director of the Company effective 4 February 2022," said InterGlobe Aviation in a stock exchange filing.

Rahul Bhatia, Managing Director, InterGlobe Aviation

Bhatia said his agenda would be transformational and would focus on expanding the airline's presence in India and international markets and building for the long term.

IndiGo Chairman Meleveetil Damodaran said the move will further strengthen the airline in the years ahead. Bhatia would oversee all aspects of the airline, and actively lead the management team, he added.

Bhatia, who holds an electrical engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, is the vice-chairman and promoter of InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd. He has over three decades of experience in the travel industry.

The appointment marks the next phase for the carrier that saw Bhatia feud with the other founder, Rakesh Gangwal, over share-transfer restrictions and governance issues.

In 2011, Bhatia was awarded as the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ by Ernst & Young. In 2016, he was featured on the Forbes’ Global Game Changers List.

The appointment marks the next phase for the carrier that saw Bhatia feud with the other founder, Rakesh Gangwal, over share-transfer restrictions and governance issues.

The legal battle ended with an international arbitrator asking Gangwal to pay Bhatia USD 50,000 claim, and allowing his counterclaim seeking removal of restrictions of a share sale by founders. The two own 74.44% of the airline bet