Please note that as Ramadan is now well under way the various embassies in the UK will be closed on certain dates this month. For example, the embassy of the KSA will be closed from 26-30 June and, also, will not be accepting any new visa applications as of the 22nd June. Please contact us should you have any further questions.
Many of the Middle East’s airlines have suspended all of their flights to Doha, the capital of the Gulf country Qatar, until further notice.
The move came after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE severed ties to Qatar, accusing the wealthy Gulf Arab state of supporting terrorism.
Please do contact us (GTM) should you have any concerns about any forthcoming travel plans you may have. In the meantime we will be actively managing all bookings and contacting those customers whose flights have been affected.
British Airways cabin crew are set to stage a four-day strike from June 16 in a long-running dispute over pay.
A BA spokeswoman said: ‘As on the previous dates when Unite called strikes of mixed fleet cabin crew, we will fly all our customers to their destinations.
‘Strike action is completely unnecessary. We had reached a deal on pay, which Unite’s national officers agreed was acceptable.
‘We urge Unite to put the pay proposals to a vote of their members.’
Unite said the latest wave of action had been prompted by BA’s ‘persistent refusal’ to restore travel concessions withdrawn from those who took part in industrial action.
Unite’s assistant general secretary for legal services Howard Beckett said: ‘It is disappointing that BA is taking such an approach when we are close to bringing this dispute to a close.
‘BA is almost alone among the employers this union has dealt with in that they can accept the case for a pay deal but want to punish the very people who made the case.
‘For an airline of the size and status of BA passengers want to know staff are treated with respect. Punishing staff for using legitimate industrial means to reach a wage deal is a culture that Unite cannot accept and a culture that will ultimately damage the BA brand.’
Since Global Travel Management was founded twenty years ago, we have been proud to be an accredited member of IATA. But what is IATA and what does GTM’s accreditation mean for our clients?
IATA is the International Air Transport Association representing the world’s airline industry. At the latest count, there are 274 airline members of IATA, from Adria Airways in Slovenia to Xiamen Airlines in China. These airlines carry more than three billion passengers and more than fifty billion tonnes of freight per year.
IATA provides an international perspective for airlines, maintaining relationships with governments and industry stakeholders around the world and helping airline members on key industry priorities such as safety, security and environmental impact. And IATA works with the industry to ensure airlines’ operational overheads are minimised, for example, by making use of the industry-wide settlement process, known as the Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP).
As an accredited member of IATA, GTM can access inventory and sell tickets on domestic and international flights. We are also able to make use of the industry’s cost-reducing systems – like BSP – and, by doing so, reduce the cost of buying and paying for airline tickets around the world.
Accreditation with IATA is yet another way in which GTM ensures best practice and delivers cost efficiencies to all clients.
Please note that with immediate effect the Chinese Embassy (in the UK) have implemented new rules for non-UK passport holders.
Any non-UK passport holder now applying for a Chinese visa in the UK must also provide a residency card, or equivalent (depending upon their nationality), when submitting their application. For EU nationals the China Embassy will no longer accept applications without proof of UK residency.
Should you have any questions or concerns about your application then please do not hesitate to contact us.
Workers on Virgin Trains East Coast are going to hold a two-day strike from 28 April in a row over role of guards and jobs, the RMT union has said.
RMT said it has sought an “explicit clarification on the company’s position on the retention of the role of the guard, in the form of seeking a specific assurance from the employer that the new role of train manager will retain the safety critical roles and training currently held by train guards”.
“It is simply appalling that Virgin East Coast have refused to give the most basic assurances on the safety-critical role of the guard on their trains continuing into the future,” said RMT general secretary Mick Cash.
“Instead they have sought to fob us off with meaningless statements that are frankly an insult to the intelligence of our members who are charged with maintaining safety on-board these inter-city trains.” Cash added: “On top of that chaotic, operational changes have been bulldozed through and there is now an additional threat to stations and travel centre staff that leaves our members on a knife-edge. “This contemptuous attitude has unleashed a tidal-wave of anger at the grass roots and the action we have agreed to put on is simply a reflection of the disgust and frustration at months of ducking and diving by Virgin/Stagecoach. The action is on and the union remains available for meaningful and genuine talks.”
DN.pt reported on Wednesday that cabin crew at SATA Internacional/Azores Airlines are threatening to go on strike on 1 and 2 May.
The union said only three flights will be assured as minimum services during the announced strike dates.
Portugal’s Airport security staff will be staging strike action, starting Thursday 13 April and lasting until next Tuesday.
Employees of the private companies Prosegur and Securitas, who, among other jobs, are responsible for passenger security checks, have announced they will be striking for two hours at the start of each shift, starting Thursday at 4 a.m., local time.
National airport management company ANA has advised passengers traveling over the next five days to keep hand-luggage to a minimum and to expect delays.
British Airways has today released the details of its new First Wing at Heathrow Airport which opens at the beginning of April.
The location and design of the new First Wing means that Gold card holders will no longer have to make the circuitous route around T5 in order to access the lounge.
The details released by British Airways today include several new features.
1. An exclusive entrance – the entrance to The First Wing is through a “scalloped steel and glass enclosure, with the centrepiece carrying the iconic BA coat of arms”.
2. A dedicated security lane – there is a new security channel and then a direct route to the Galleries First lounge and the Concorde Room.
3. Greater privacy – a specially-designed, curved, fluted wall, three metres high and 29 metres long, “keeps the area separate and private”.
4. More space for check-in – the First Wing check-in area is more than 250 per cent larger than before. It also has more seats including armchairs, marble-topped side tables and bespoke leather banquettes.
And if you need to do some last minute shopping before your flight, you can always enjoy the escalators down to the retail area, which you previously had to walk past in order to get to the Galleries First lounge – enjoy!
