Could the Seychelles show the flightpath to the future?

Simon Calder
·3 min read
<p>Dream destination: Mahe airport in the Seychelles </p> (Simon Calder)

Dream destination: Mahe airport in the Seychelles

(Simon Calder)

How to get people flying again? That is the huge challenge facing airlines around the world.

“New state restrictions” were blamed for the latest slump in aviation by Eamonn Brennan, the director general of Eurocontrol. The Brussels-based organisation that coordinates air traffic across Europe, has revealed that, last Monday, no big European country had as many as half the flights compared with the corresponding day in 2019.

Even more alarming (especially if your business is controlling air traffic) was the collapse in flights since the start of the year. Of all the continent’s major airports, only Milan Linate saw as many services last Sunday as it had two weeks earlier.

Berlin Brandenburg, Geneva and Malaga have lost more than half their flights in the past fortnight.

Those restrictions are increasing in breadth and depth.

On Monday, the United Kingdom brought in its toughest ever peacetime rules for arriving travellers, requiring them to have a Covid test before boarding a plane to the UK and to self-isolate for up to 10 days upon arrival.

Then Joe Biden’s team said they would bolster restrictions for visitors to the US as soon as the president-elect is inaugurated.

No wonder the media team at the International Air Transport Association (Iata) has been busy, heightening the need for “a common digital European Covid-19 vaccination certificate that would enable those who are vaccinated to travel freely within Europe without Covid-19 testing”.

Iata is also promoting its Travel Pass, which it describes as “a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with government requirements for Covid-19 tests or vaccines”.

Both Emirates and Etihad of the UAE, dependent on global travel for their survival, are signed up for the scheme. But it is hamstrung by the continuing failure of governments to agree on a framework, as they (understandably) put the welfare of their citizens ahead of cunning plans to liberalise travel.

Yet a fairly low-key announcement from the Seychelles points to a more realistic prospect of how nations may come to terms with opening up with minimum risk.

The government of the Indian Ocean archipelago now allows travellers to provide proof of coronavirus immunisation as an alternative to quarantine. But this welcome development will be but a brief interlude before something even more significant: opening the borders because the population has been protected.

By mid-March, the Seychelles hopes to have at least 70 per cent of its adult population vaccinated. That is the point at which the islands’ government will relax all restrictions apart from the need to have a pre-travel test, which today is a given for almost everywhere.

The international airport, Mahe, has proved reasonably resilient in keeping flights going: Emirates, Qatar Airways and Ethiopian Airlines, a formidable trio, are all flying in and out. The trouble is: many of those seats are unoccupied.

So the Commonwealth country is acting unilaterally to spur an economy that contracted by one-sixth last year. No doubt other tourism-dependent nations with advanced vaccination programmes will follow suit – ideally places which are within easier financial reach of British travellers.

Airlines and the wider travel industry will doubtless find this approach annoyingly piecemeal. But I am sure they will appreciate any signs of life while the rest of the world is proving sluggish.

Welcome news, too, that Emirates and Singapore Airlines are among the airlines racing to immunise their employees.

The main aim, understandably, is to protect cabin crew and other frontline staff against coronavirus, but vaccinations may also help to ease the onboard regime and reduce anxiety among prospective travellers.

Aviation in 2021 will still prove dismal for the staff who work in the industry and those of us who appreciate the possibilities it unlocks. Yet at least there is some sunlight on the horizon.

Read More

UK named worst-performing European nation for flights

UK aviation ‘almost closed’ as tough new rules begin

Seychelles to get rid of quarantine for all vaccinated visitors

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • S&P 500 extends losing streak to sixth day, Dow up 210 points

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) is the lone leader among market indexes, closing the trading week higher by a mere 0.01% and rising by 210 points in Friday's session. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) extend their losing streaks to their sixth consecutive days. Market Domination Overtime Anchor Julie Hyman looks back on today's market activity while keeping a close eye on a handful of top trending stocks. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click&nbsp;here&nbsp;to watch this full episode of Market Domination Overtime. This post was written by Luke Carberry Mogan.

  • Lillard practices fully and Antetokounmpo remains out of live drills as Bucks prepare for playoffs

    MILWAUKEE (AP) — Damian Lillard practiced fully but Giannis Antetokounmpo remained out of live drills Friday as the Milwaukee Bucks continued getting ready for Sunday’s playoff opener against the Indiana Pacers. Lillard is dealing with a sore adductor that limited him the last weekend of the regular season, while Antetokounmpo missed the Bucks’ final three regular-season games with a strained left calf. Although Bucks President Peter Feigin told Milwaukee radio station WKLH that Antetokounmpo “d

  • 14-year-old convicted for joyride that led to deadly Woodland crash; but not on murder charges

    Yolo County prosecutors had sought murder charges for the deaths of a 4-year-old girl and her grandmother.

  • NCAA approves helmet communication, sideline tablets, two-minute warning for college football

    The NCAA approved the use of helmet communiation devices and sideline tablets for college football next season. Additionally, a two-minute warning will be incorporated into gameplay.

  • UPDATE 1-Mexico's Slim eyes $7.7 billion investment in Brazil in coming years

    Mexican magnate Carlos Slim is considering investing more than 40 billion reais ($7.70 billion) in Brazil in the coming years, he said on Friday, after meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. Slim, whose family controls telecommunications giant America Movil, said the investments would be made in Brazil's 5G and fiber-optic networks. America Movil-owned Claro is a huge player in the South American country's telecom sector.

  • Initiative 'led by survivors to uncover the truth'

    THUNDER BAY – Residential school survivors gathered at a hotel on Highway 61 this week to discuss their experiences and how the Bringing Our Children Home Initiative should move forward. The initiative, also named Bikiiwewinig Nindawaashishiiminaanak, is investigating the possibility of unmarked graves where the Pelican Lake Indian Residential School once operated. Bringing Our Children Home “was created and led by survivors to uncover the truth,” Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull said Thursday durin

  • 70s and low 80s expected for weekend

    70s and low 80s expected for weekend

  • Fed says 1,804 banks and other institutions tapped emergency lending facility

    About 95% of the borrowers, which included banks, credit unions, savings associations, and branches and agencies of foreign banks, had less than $10 billion in assets, the U.S. central bank said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report. The Bank Term Funding Program, as it was called, was aimed at addressing a liquidity crunch after a run on deposits led to the failures of SVB and Signature Bank and forced financial authorities to stage a rescue of the sector.

  • Port Moody honours Robert Simons with Freedom of the City award

    Before Wednesday night, it would have been hard to describe Robert Simons in a short sentence. The long-time Port Moody resident has served as a volunteer, committee member, board member, provincial appointee, vice-president and president of a dizzying amount of community, academic and non-profit organizations. Port Moody bestowed Simons with the highest honour it can give a resident on April 17, awarding him the Freedom of the City medal along with a key to the city. “My last love is giving bac

  • US State Dept 'fully expects' to finalize new AUKUS trade exemptions in next 120 days

    The U.S. State Department said on Friday it fully expects to finalize new trade exemptions for the AUKUS defense project with Australia and Britain over the next 120 days. "Exemptions in our export control systems, within a framework of shared standards with Australia and the UK, are key to harnessing and maximizing the innovative power residing in our defense industrial bases," the department said in a statement. "We fully expect to finalize the new trade exemptions – based on stakeholder input – over the course of the next 120 days," it said.

  • The Latest | Judge agrees to seal 4 pieces of evidence in hush money trial

    NEW YORK (AP) — A jury of 12 people and six alternates was seated on Friday in former President Donald Trump’s hush money criminal case. The completion of jury selection sets the stage for opening statements in the first-ever criminal trial of a former U.S. president to begin Monday, as well as weeks of testimony in a case charging Trump with falsifying business records to suppress stories about his sex life emerging in the final days of the 2016 election. The jury includes a sales professional,

  • Former Wales winger Leighton James dies, aged 71

    He had three spells at Burnley, helped hometown club Swansea in to the top tier of English football and won 54 caps for his country.

  • Cambridge college cuts ties with philosophy fellow who sparked race row

    A college at the University of Cambridge has cut ties with a philosophy fellow who sparked a race row.

  • N.B. environment minister resigns, citing political differences with Higgs's Tories

    FREDERICTON — New Brunswick’s environment minister quit on Friday, citing political differences with the Progressive Conservative government led by Premier Blaine Higgs. Gary Crossman announced his decision on social media, saying that after 10 years representing the Saint John-area riding of Hampton, he has to prioritize his health. “My personal and political beliefs no longer align in many ways with the direction of our party and government,” Crossman wrote. He did not specify which of his bel

  • Fed report cites inflation, US election as key financial stability risks

    Persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates were cited as key risks to financial stability in the Federal Reserve's latest survey of U.S. central bank contacts, with geopolitical troubles and the 2024 U.S. presidential election also mentioned as "a potentially significant source of shocks." "Contacts noted several areas of uncertainty including trade policy and other foreign policy issues related to escalating geopolitical tensions," the Fed said on Friday in its semi-annual survey of 25 market participants, academics and other contacts. The survey results were included as part of the Fed's latest Financial Stability Report, which looks at issues like leverage and risk-taking throughout the economy to try to identify potential trouble spots.

  • Private schools may have been included in Cambridge University scheme for deprived teens

    Private school pupils may have been flagged for inclusion in a Cambridge University scheme designed to help deprived teenagers, an investigation has found.

  • Nvidia Sinks, Exposing 8 'Secrets' For When To Sell Stocks

    As top growth stocks like Nvidia fall below key moving averages, keep in mind these proven rules for when to sell stocks.

  • Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department – live updates: What critics and fans are saying

    Pop star shares message with fans from Instagram as fans celebrate new album release, with many noticing several lyrical references to The 1975’s Matty Healy along with her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn

  • Forget Tesla. Top Funds Love This Non-Mag 7 AI Giant.

    As Tesla tanks, top funds bet big on AI leader Broadcom stock, as well as Nvidia and Google. But market pressures rise.

  • Middle East escalation could push oil up $50 a barrel

    STORY: Oil settled slightly higher on Friday, but posted a weekly decline, after Iran played down a reported Israeli attack on its soil, a sign that an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East might be avoided.Oil benchmarks spiked more than $3 a barrel earlier in the session after explosions were heard in the Iranian city of Isfahan in what sources described as an Israeli attack. Bernstein says if escalations were to continue "it will create enormous uncertainty for oil and the ability to get it, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, in the Middle East."