NEWS: Bali mulls reopening, Tokyo Olympics unlikely to allow international visitors & Virgin Atlantic celebrates women’s day

Bali mulls reopening

The island of Bali has made a lot of noises about reopening but so far nothing concrete has emerged. With the rollout of vaccines, it now appears that Bali is once again looking towards how to reopen safely for tourism. According to the Bali Sun newspaper, the tourism minister has said that he hoped to prior tourism workers for vaccination in order to help the economy.

The reopening of international travel this year could bring growth of 3% to 4.8% to Bali’s economy. The island is keen to restart tourism as soon as possible with the minister saying ” “I hope this vaccination program will bring a snowball effect to the road of recovery, as we begin preparations to reopen our border. We have to move fast, and run our programs as soon as possible, rather than just sit and wait for things to get better”.

Talks have already begun with countries that are relatively covid-free such as China and Singapore to establish a travel corridor. In the meantime, new regulations are being introduced to keep visitors and the island safe. 

Tokyo Olympics unlikely to allow international visitors

Hopes of Japan reopening for the Olympics are growing slimmer by the day. Many travellers had bought tickets for cheap events at the Olympics in the hope that Japan would reopen for the games in July. 

No official announcement has been made yet, but rumours by the press in Japan seem to suggest that they will not be allowing international fans to visit for the games which were postponed from last year. The country will already have to allow 15,000 athletes from multiple countries plus coaches, the media etc. Japan is currently closed to 152 countries including the UK. The originally planned reopening for safe countries such as Australia and Thailand has been suspended. 

An official decision will be made by 25 March when the torch relay starts.  The Japanese public are also said to be against holding the Olympic games at all and 80% of locals were for postponing it again or cancelling them. 

Virgin Atlantic honour women’s day with two new aircraft

All Virgin’s aircraft are given a name when they enter the fleet, which is typical of Virgin’s quirky airline. Recently, the airline updated its famous Flying Ladies which had adorned the side of its planes with Flying Icons instead.  The new symbols include a diverse range of men and women. Virgin Atlantic is now celebrating two iconic women this International Women’s day, by naming two of its new planes in their honour. 

‘Lady Emmeline’ will pay homage to the founder of the Suffragette movement and women’s rights activist, Emmeline Pankhurst.  As the leader of the WSPU, Pankhurst’s political campaigning was instrumental in securing women in the UK the right to vote at the turn of the last century.  All charitable donations received on-board Lady Emmeline will be distributed to a selection of women’s charities, when the plane enters service next year. 

Registered as G-VLIB, the Airbus A350, is due to commence flying in April 2022 and will operate on a number of the airline’s leisure routes, whisking holidaymakers to destinations including Orlando, Antigua and Barbados. 

A second A350 will named ‘Fearless Lady’ and registered as G-VEVE, in celebration of the mother of the airline’s founder, Sir Richard Branson, after she sadly passed away in January.  Described as “an entrepreneur before the word existed”, Eve led a colourful life which included enlisting in the WRENS during World War II, taking gliding lessons disguised as a boy and working as a pioneering air hostess on the treacherous British South American Airways routes.  More recently, she founded the Eve Branson Foundation, which aims to improve the lives of women and young girls in the Atlas Mountains as well as providing education and health care to those in need.

Estelle Hollingsworth, Chief People Officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented;

“We’re delighted to be celebrating two fearless females this International Women’s Day.  Having their names emblazoned on the side of our planes will act as a lasting reminder of their spirit and the determination to drive positive change that both of these exceptional women encompassed.

“Today, we will also be celebrating our own women in aviation.  We are focussed on being a fair, diverse, and inclusive employer that attracts the best talent, regardless of gender.  We’re committed to creating an environment that allows women to thrive in the workplace, by ensuring we have a gender balance in leadership positions, as well as creating a framework for future talent to flourish.”