Middle East Archives - The Gulf Indians

Oman Air receives recognition

The Gulf Indians — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 12:12:35 +0000

Our correspondent

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate, has been named The “Middle East’s Leading Airline” Business Class and “Middle East’s Leading Airline” Economy Class. The airline received the internationally acclaimed recognition in the 2020 World Travel Awards Middle East programme.
The Airline’s in-flight magazine, Wings of Oman, earned the title, “Middle East’s Leading Inflight Magazine”.

Voted by travel and tourism professionals and consumers worldwide, the honour recognises the commitment to excellence each winner has demonstrated.

Abdulaziz Saud al-Ra’eesi, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, said: “We are extremely delighted and honoured to earn these awards. Winning 3 categories of the prestigious World Travel Awards is a remarkable achievement for Oman Air, especially when we were pitted against some of the world’s largest airlines.”

Oman Air has been awarded the “Middle East’s Leading Airline: Business Class” title every year since 2016, as well as in 2014; and the “Middle East’s Leading Airline: Economy Class” title for 6 years running – from 2014 to 2020.

In October, it debuted its new website, which delivers a smooth, simple experience for everyone. The new site, which features a fresh, contemporary design and user interface, provides simplified access to flight options and payment alternatives, along with state-of-the-art security.

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Children under 12 exempted from COVID-19 PCR test, says Air India Express

The Gulf Indians — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 06:41:31 +0000

Our Correspondent
Air India Express has announced that children under 12 who fly with it from India to the UAE are now exempt from the mandatory COVID-19 PCR test.
“A valid negative COVID-19 PCR test, from a government-approved laboratory, no older than 96 hours prior to departure is required for travel back to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. For children below 12 years, COVID-19 PCR Test is not mandatory,” the airline posted on its blog. The airline has confirmed this to passengers on Twitter as well.
“As per the recent update, it is mandatory only for passengers above 12 years of age. But please check out our blog often to know the recent updates as it may change accordingly,” it tweeted in reply to a passenger on July 20.
The exemption given to young children is likely to give some relief to parents of young children who were concerned about taking them to testing centres that are either far from their homes or crowded, with the danger of contracting COVID-19 at the centres.

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Hunger set to soar as COVID-19 obliterates lives, livelihoods: UN

The Gulf Indians — Sat, 18 Jul 2020 06:55:01 +0000

People in 25 countries are set to face devastating levels of hunger in coming months due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While the greatest concentration of need is in Africa, countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in the Middle East and Asia – including middle-income countries – are also being ravaged by crippling levels of food insecurity, according to the Early Warning Analysis of Acute Food Security Hotspots, compiled by the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, published on July 17.
“Three months ago at the UN Security Council, I told world leaders that we ran the risk of a famine of biblical proportions,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “Today, our latest data tell us that, since then, millions of the world’s very poorest families have been forced even closer to the abyss. Livelihoods are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate and now their lives are in imminent danger from starvation. Make no mistake – if we do not act now to end this pandemic of human suffering, many people will die.”
To prevent the worst, WFP is scaling up to provide food assistance to an unprecedented 138 million people who face desperate levels of hunger as the pandemic tightens its grip on some of the most fragile countries on earth.
The cost of WFP’s response to this burgeoning food insecurity is estimated at US$ 4.9 billion, with an additional $500 million being earmarked to prevent the outbreak of famine in countries most at risk.
This represents more than half of the updated COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, the largest appeal in the UN’s history, launched today, for more than US$ 10 billion. The plan covers wide-ranging humanitarian needs in more than 60 countries, many of them already reeling from the impact of conflict, climate change and economic crisis.
The number of acute food insecure people in these at-risk countries could increase from an estimated 149 million pre-COVID-19 to 270 million before the end of the year if life-saving assistance is not provided urgently. Recent estimates also suggest that up to 6,000 children could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months as a result of pandemic-related disruptions to essential health and nutrition services.

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