NEWS: Bali confirms not opening until 2021, Lufthansa allows no masks with certificate, Delta announces European routes for winter

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Bali not opening until 2021 confirmed

Bali had originally planned to open in September and would have been one of the only Asian countries accepting visitors. They have now officially announced that they do not expect to accept any visitors before the end of 2020 according to the Jakarta Post.

“The government is still prohibiting its citizens from traveling abroad at least until the end of 2020. In line with the policy, we also cannot open the gate to international travelers until the end of 2020 as the situation in Indonesia, including Bali, is not yet safe to welcome them,” said Bali Governor Wayan Koster in a statement on Saturday.

The governor seemed to believe that most countries were not allowing travel in or out of the country. He has obviously missed that pretty much the whole of Europe and the Caribbean are open for travel. “Many countries in the world are still implementing tight restrictions on their citizens due to the still-spreading COVID-19 pandemic, which is threatening their citizens’ health and safety.”

Hopefully, countries in Asia and Australasia will start coming up with a credible plan of how and when they will reopen so that travellers can at least know whether to think about travelling to those countries next year.

Lufthansa allows no masks with test

The war on masks is hotting up with US airlines making travellers with disabilities go through pre-screening before allowing them to travel maskless and other airlines banning certain types of mask. Lufthansa has said that they will only allow people to travel without a mask due to disability or medical conditions with a negative COVID-19 test.

The airlines of the Lufthansa Group which include Swiss and Austrian airlines are restricting the exceptions from the obligation to wear a mask on board their flights. From 1 September 2020, an exemption from the requirement to wear a mask during the flight for medical reasons will only be possible if a medical certificate is presented on a form provided by the airline. Passengers can download the document from the airlines’ websites. In addition, passengers who are unable to wear a mask during the flight must present a negative covid-19 test, which is not older than 48 hours at the scheduled begin of the journey. This ensures maximum safety for the passengers travelling with them.

The airlines in the Lufthansa Group already introduced compulsory masks onboard their flights at the beginning of May, making them one of the first airlines worldwide to do so. Exceptions to this rule were previously only possible with a medical certificate. The new rules on the compulsory wearing of masks now ensure even better protection for all passengers.

The airlines in the Lufthansa Group have introduced extensive hygiene measures on board and on the ground. They are also in close contact with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and national authorities to promote the ongoing development and harmonization of health standards in air transport during the corona pandemic.

Both Munich and Frankfurt are offering COVID tests in the airport which at least should make obtaining the certificates relatively simple.

Delta announced European routes for winter

Delta is ramping up its schedule from summer with its winter routes much reduced from their original plans. Airlines generally seem to be hopeful that there will be a change in the USA’s ban on European travellers in time for the end of March next year. (Wouldn’t it be amazing if all countries just subscribed to one set of rules such as countries under 20 per 100,000 cases can enter, above that they either must quarantine or have one/two tests!). Delta plans to keep their newly refurbished B767-400s on most of the Heathrow routes which is good news as these have a great and socially distanced business class seat.

The winter routes and changes that are of most interest are:

Atlanta – London Heathrow Reduce from 2 to 1 daily, A330-300 replaces 767-400ER

Boston – London Heathrow Reduce from 7 to 5 weekly, 767-400ER operating

Detroit – London Heathrow Service remains cancelled

Minneapolis/St. Paul – London Heathrow Service remains cancelled

New York JFK – London Heathrow Reduce from 3 to 1 daily, 767-400ER operating

Salt Lake City – London Heathrow Service remains cancelled

Moving into next summer, Delta will expand its hub-to-hub flying between the U.S. and Europe, offering nonstop daily service to Amsterdam (AMS), Paris and London-Heathrow from Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, New York-JFK and Minneapolis. From Seattle and Salt Lake City, customers will have nonstop daily access to Amsterdam and Paris. Delta’s LAX hub will offer nonstop service to Paris. This expansion also marks a restart of trans-Atlantic service for L.A., Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.

The summer schedule to the UK is planned as:

Atlanta – London Heathrow 2 daily 767-400ER

Boston – London Heathrow 1 daily 767-400ER

Detroit – London Heathrow 1 daily 767-400ER (2 daily scheduled Pre-COVID19 NS20)

New York JFK – London Heathrow 2 daily 767-400ER (3 daily scheduled Pre-COVID19 NS20)

Salt Lake City – London Heathrow Service remains cancelled in NS21

Portland OR – London Heathrow Service remains cancelled in NS21 (Previously reported, this route was closed for reservation)

Minneapolis/St. Paul – London Heathrow 1 daily 767-400ER

Here are the full transatlantic plans for winter 20/21 and summer 21.

From AMS, CDG or LHR, customers will then have access to over 160 destinations throughout the region via partners Virgin Atlantic and Air France-KLM.

Delta remains committed to ensuring customers benefit from easy access across the pond through its key hubs in ATL, BOS and JFK. By next summer, customers traveling through JFK will have direct access to six more seasonal destinations popular with leisure travelers. Delta will also resume popular vacation spots from Atlanta, such as Barcelona, Dublin, Rome and Madrid. Service from Boston to Paris, London-Heathrow and Dublin will increase to daily.