NEWS
Italy looks ready to follow through on cruise ship ban in Venice’s Guidecca Canal VENICE — After years of protests and pushback the Italian government appears ready to follow through on efforts to ban large cruise ships from entering Guidecca Canal, which leads to the iconic St. Mark’s Square. Large cruise ships sailing the canal has been a hot-button issue for decades, amid charges of water pollution and erosion to Venice’s centuries-old infrastructure. Protests in the city ramped up after the MSC Opera’s crash on the canal in June 2019. The Italian Cabinet passed a decree this week calling for a public tender of ideas to create a new docking port “outside the protected waters of the lagoon.” Culture Minister Dario Franceschini said the decree addresses longstanding UNESCO concerns and establishes that cargo and cruise ships bigger than 40,000 tons must dock outside the lagoon. While it's not articulated in the decree, the temporary plan would have big ships use the Marghera Port on the Italian mainland until a definitive solution is found and implemented, a potentially years-long process. “Whoever has been to Venice in recent years, either an Italian or foreigner, has been upset seeing these ships — hundreds of meters long and high as a condo — pass by such fragile places as the Giudecca Canal or in front of St. Mark's Square,” Franceschini said. He called the decree a “very important” way to come up with a definitive new solution. Activists opposed to cruise ships in Venice say the latest proposal to reroute big ships away from St. Mark's Square doesn't go far enough to address environmental concerns about the Venetian lagoon. They argue that the Marghera Port is still part of the Venetian lagoon and therefore must be rejected even as a temporary solution. The new route envisaged would take ships past the tail of the Lido and then hug the Italian mainland via the Oil Canal, away from Venice's historic centre but still into the lagoon and up to Marghera.
Sunwing cancels all sun flights until June 23 TORONTO — Sunwing has announced the cancellation of all southbound flights to sun destinations between May 1 and June 23, 2021. The move essentially extends the previous suspension of all winter sun flights between Jan. 31 and April 30, 2021, a directive announced by Prime Minister Trudeau in January for all of Canada’s major airlines – Sunwing, Air Canada, WestJet and Transat. In addition to sun flights, Sunwing has also announced the cancellation of domestic flights to/from British Columbia and Newfoundland, also from May 1 to June 23, 2021. The decision to cancel, though difficult, was necessary as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions, says Sunwing. Customers or their travel agents impacted by cancelled flights are being contacted by Sunwing directly to review their options. For more information contact the Sunwing Sales Centre at 1-877-786-9464.
Singapore accepts IATA Travel Pass, coming into effect May 1 GENEVA — Following successful trials by Singapore Airlines, IATA has welcomed the airline’s acceptance of pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test results on the IATA Travel Pass. From May 1, 2021, passengers travelling to Singapore will be able to use the Pass to share their pre-departure COVID-19 PCR test results upon check-in with their airline, as well as on arrival at im-
migration checkpoints at Changi Airport. The digital health pass, first announced in late 2020, was designed to manage and verify the flow of testing or vaccine information among governments, airlines, laboratories and travellers. In addition to Singapore Airlines, early adopters that were the first to trial the pass include Emirates, Etihad, Copa and Air New Zealand. To date, more than 20 airlines have announced trials of the IATA Travel Pass. With Singapore Airlines’ trials now completed, the Singapore health and border control authorities will accept the IATA Travel Pass as a valid form of presentation of COVID-19 pre-departure test results for entry into Singapore. The information presented on the Pass will be in a format that satisfied Singapore’s prevailing COVID-19 pre-departure test requirements for entry into Singapore. “Having the confidence of an aviation leader like Singapore accept IATA Travel Pass is hugely significant,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “Ongoing trials put us on track for IATA Travel Pass to be a critical tool for the industry’s restart by delivering verified travel health credentials to governments. And travellers can have complete confidence that their personal data is secure and under their own control. “The success of our joint efforts will make IATA’s partnership with the government of Singapore a model for others to follow.” According to IATA, digital health certificates will be a key feature in air travel moving forward. Establishing trusted, secure solutions to verify the health credentials of travellers will be critical in facilitating smooth air travel and safeguarding public health. Travellers to Singapore intending to use the IATA Travel Pass should check with the airline they are travelling with for eligibility to use the Pass. April 8, 2021 | TRAVELWEEK | 21
