Travel News Digest, 26 April:

This week’s latest travel news includes updates from SAA, a heartwarming captive tiger rescue story, and insights into a new tourism initiative in Namibia. Meanwhile, petrol station-related crime is on the rise in South Africa and Lift will temporarily suspend its flights between Cape Town and Durban. Read about these stories and more as we wrap up the previous week’s travel news:

Airline and Aviation News:

• Lift to temporarily suspend flights between Cape Town and Durban. The regional airline has updated its winter schedule, announcing the temporary suspension of all flights between the cities from May 7th to June 12th. Passengers are being informed accordingly, and the airline assures that it will arrange alternative flights for those impacted during this period.

• Strike threat disrupts hundreds of flights in France. According to Reuters, French air traffic controllers had initially threatened to strike on April 25th but eventually reached an agreement with authorities. Unfortunately, the resolution arrived too late to prevent numerous flight cancellations, leading to significant disruptions across France.

• ACSA introduces mandatory physical searches of all persons wearing head coverings. The Airports Company of South Africa has announced that passengers wearing “fixed headgear, headwraps, hijabs, burkas, doeks, izicholo, or niqabs” will undergo physical searches at airport security gates. It assures that these searches will be carried out with sensitivity to recognised religious and cultural practices, though it acknowledges that they may cause discomfort.

• Interim Chairman Derek Hanekom: SAA broke even in 2023. In an interview with ENCA, the former Minister of Tourism revealed that the national airline achieved break-even during the 2023-2024 financial year. Now, it is actively pursuing new investment avenues to support network expansion.

• Norse Atlantic Airways announces new route between Cape Town and London Gatwick. The latest flight option provides a cost-effective choice for travelers journeying between Cape Town and London Gatwick International Airport, commencing operations on October 28th. Online booking services are already open for reservations.

Travel and Destination News:

• Namibia launches visas-on-arrival at Walvis Bay Harbour. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism urged for streamlined immigration procedures for cruise ships following the arrival of over 1,000 passengers on the Queen Mary II at Walvis Bay this month. Many passengers experienced lengthy waiting periods. As a response, a new visa system has been implemented, removing the requirement for advance visa applications.

• South African motorists warned as petrol station hijackings increase. Louis Nyahunda, a senior research fellow at the Tshwane University of Technology Department of Law, Safety, and Security Management, says there has been a significant rise in petrol station-related crimes in South Africa. Motorists are being urged to remain vigilant.

Conservation News:

• South Africa promises more cheetahs for India’s Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary. Since independence, the cheetah stands as the sole large predator to have faced extinction in India. In 2022, local authorities initiated “Project Cheetah,” reintroducing eight cheetahs into the sanctuary, followed by an additional 12 in 2023. The project’s aim is to establish a thriving breeding population.

• Deforestation forcing Ugandan wildlife to consume disease-ridden bat guano to survive. According to researchers, tobacco farming has led to significant selective deforestation in Budongo Forest, Uganda. This environmental impact has compelled animals such as chimpanzees, antelopes, and monkeys to resort to bat guano as a food source. However, bat guano serves as a significant reservoir for zoonotic viruses, prompting concerns about the potential spread of additional diseases from wildlife to humans.

• “Boksburg Tigers” rescued and released to big cat sanctuary. For more than two years, the tigers endured substandard conditions at a residential property in Boksburg until their rescue by the NSPCA and Boksburg SPCA. They have since been relocated to the Isindile Big Cat and Predator Sanctuary in Fouriesburg, Free State.

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