Results for Travel

New York Times reporting: A day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to stay home for Thanksgiving, more than 1 million people in the United States got on planes, marking the second day that more than 1 million people have flown since March. Nearly 3 million additional people have flown in the days since. For some, the desire to see family is worth the risk of potentially getting the coronavirus while traveling.

New York Times reporting: Now, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate the cruise industry, companies are downsizing their fleets and selling the ships for scrap. “We’ve never seen anything like this,” said Kamil Onal, chairman of the Ship Recyclers’ Association of Turkey. “Before the pandemic we mainly dismantled cargo ships, but now this has become the fate for cruise ships after months of sitting idle without passengers.”

Two flights arriving in Tonga today repatriated around 56 passengers from Nadi, Fiji. Seven more passengers arrived from Tarawa, Kiribati, with the repatriation of a deceased person. A third flight arrived today from Tahiti for a fuel stop.

Air New Zealand has put a hold on new bookings on international services into New Zealand following a request from the New Zealand Government.

Air New Zealand will resume passenger flights between Auckland and Shanghai next week, with passengers subject to government border controls in each direction.

Air New Zealand services to Tonga and other Pacific countries such as Fiji, Samoa, Rarotonga, New Caledonia and French Polynesia, could resume to one return service from Auckland per week, if the travel restrictions currently in place around passenger services are lifted, the airline announced today.

Due to increased uncertainty in the Covid-19 outbreak, Air New Zealand has reduced its capacity across domestic and international routes, including a 26% reduction in Asia. Pacific Islands will experience capacity reductions of 6% through June. The airline's shareholders were told today that the financial impact on earnings will be more significant than previously estimated. The airline has implemented hiring freezes and capital expenditure deferrals.

Tonga is ranked at no. 44 out of 107 countries this year, listed on the Henley Passport Index, which ranks all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. The ranking is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Asian countries are now world leaders when it comes to both global economic activity and global mobility, with Japan and Singapore holding the top spot ranked at no.1, while the Pacific Islands states are ranked between 39-62.

The Nuku'alofa waterfront has a new look as a major $66 million pa'anga upgrade of the domestic wharf nears completion for commissioningin February. The project was funded under Japan's grant-aid to Tonga.