USA ESTA Travel Pass News

After a long period of restricted air traffic, there is now good news from Air France, KLM and Delta Air Lines, which have not only increased their route network again but are even offering more connections to the USA than before the pandemic.

Travelers to the USA should be very happy about the new summer flight schedule for 2022 from Air France, KLM and Delta Air Lines. The airline group has significantly expanded its route network.

Delta has already resumed the route to New York-JFK from Frankfurt. The Atlanta connection from the largest German airport was actually maintained for the entire duration of the pandemic. Since December, the hub in Georgia, which is also Delta’s home airport, has once again been served from Munich. That same month, KLM resumed its service to Las Vegas and Air France resumed service to Seattle.

Many more connections are now planned for the summer timetable. A total of 20 US destinations are to be flown to, namely from Paris-CDG and Paris-Orly or Amsterdam. Travelers from Germany have connections from various airports, eight with Air France and ten with KLM.

It has been revealed that a new Korean airline, Air Premia, is accelerating its preparations for service to LA. It aims to operate the LA-Incheon passenger route as early as the end of May or early June, but the airline industry has expressed doubts about the possibility of service within two months, so the specific timing of the start of the operation is drawing attention.

According to Korean media on the 5th, Air Premia announced that it is in the process of establishing a branch and licensing a branch for passenger operation on the LA-Incheon route and is in the final stage. An Air Premia official said, “In line with the easing of distances and the trend of exemption from quarantine for overseas arrivals, we are preparing a route to Los Angeles in the US as a top priority for mid- to long-distance airlines.” he said.

Regarding the timing of service, according to the Korean media and the airline industry, it is known that Air Premia is planning to start the LA-Incheon route at the end of next month or early June at the earliest. This is because the LA-Incheon route is a liberalized flight route, and it is possible as long as an airport slot (the right to take off and land at a specific time) is secured without securing a separate transportation right.

It has been found that Air Premia has already been in contact with multiple travel agencies since last month in relation to ticket sales rights, centred on Korean travel agencies in Los Angeles. An official from a Korean-American travel agency said, “We are working with travel agencies to select a company that is in charge of selling airline tickets between LA and Incheon. ” he said.

Even among Korean investors in Los Angeles who made an initial investment in Air Premia, the possibility of starting the service in early June is being mentioned in relation to the timing of the LA-Incheon route.

In the process of gathering Korean American investors in LA at the initial stage of its establishment, Air Premia put forward the route between LA and Incheon as a prerequisite. Here, Air Premia is also a route that differentiates and identifies a hybrid airline (HSC) that combines the advantages of a low-cost carrier (LCC) and a large-scale carrier (FSC). To this end, Air Premia has already introduced the Boeing 787-9 medium and large aircraft and plans to introduce three more aircraft this year.

National airlines such as Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are also closely monitoring the preparations for Air Premia’s LA-Incheon route. Although they are somewhat sceptical about the target timing of Air Premia’s flight to LA at the end of May or early June, they are looking at trends such as changes in the future situation.

An official of the national airline said, “If the flight to LA starts in early June, there should already be a pre-sale of tickets, but no meaningful movement has been detected.” he said.

The popular United States Botanic Garden in Washington DC has been closed for two years due to the COVID-19 outbreak.  It has been set to open and welcome back locals and tourists beginning the 1st April.

The indoor garden at the botanical garden is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, and the outdoor garden from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm during spring and summer. In addition, the garden near the fountain is open from sunrise to sunset. Admission is free, there is no need to specify a viewing time, and visitors to the indoor garden must wear a mask.

On the 26th, a representative of the Botanical Garden said, “If the weather permits, the children’s garden and the south yard in the botanical garden will reopen from the 22nd of next month.”

As various travel restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have been eased, the Seattle tourism market is also starting to stretch.

Industry insiders say there is still a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels, but there are signs of recovery in several areas.

According to the tourism industry, the tourism industry is reviving, with hotel occupancy gradually increasing in Seattle and other King County areas.

According to the industry status report recently published by Visit Seattle, downtown Seattle hotel occupancy increased by 11% and King County by 8% from January to February, respectively. Over the past four weeks, hotel occupancy across the county has reached 56%.

According to industry sources, Seattle tourism peaked by breaking new records every year from 2018 to 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic.

During the peak season, Seattle hotel reservations are still far short of when compared to when the sky was a star, but the industry sees it as a positive sign.

Other tourism sectors are also slowly opening up.

According to the industry, a total of 296 cruises departing or arriving from Seattle this year, and the average daily number of passengers at SeaTac Airport is 43,000.

In addition, the Washington State Convention Center, where various international conferences were held, has already booked a number of conferences with a total of 24,000 people expected to attend, including the animation event in April.

Walker Willingham, who runs a business at Pike Place, Seattle’s first tourist spot, said, “The barriers to travel to the US are now back to pre-pandemic levels.

The opening of the Canadian border is also expected to act as another positive for Seattle tourism.

From the 1st, visitors entering or returning to Canada across the border will no longer be required to submit a corona-negative certificate.

“Canadian tourists make up half of our customers,” said Allison Russell, Canmore Airlines, a provider of seaplane tours.

The Ministry of Commerce has decided to ban international flights on 100 planes operated by Russian airlines, Reuters reported on the 18th.

The ban includes 99 US-made Boeing planes operated by Russian airlines such as Aeroflot, Air Bridge Cargo and Utair, and one plane used by Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich.

The ban applies to international flights departing from Russia.

The US judges that these planes currently in Russia violated export control regulations applied to planes manufactured by the US or planes containing US technology or items in excess of a certain percentage.

The Ministry of Commerce warns that refueling, maintenance, repair, or provision of spare parts or services to companies around the world is a violation of export control regulations and may result in US law enforcement, including imprisonment, fines, and loss of export privileges.

Commerce Secretary Gina Ramondo said in a statement to Reuters, “We are releasing this list for the world to know.”

The U.S., Canada and a number of European countries have already banned Russian planes from flying over their own countries, Reuters said.

He said Russian airlines only have a few weeks to find replacement supplies for banned plane parts, and if that doesn’t work, they may need to ban flights to avoid safety concerns.

A case in which the new Korean e-passport, which was issued in earnest since the end of last year, was not recognized abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea began to investigate the cause.

The Korean media reported inconveniences that the new e-passport was not recognized properly at airports in the US, or that an internet bank in Germany failed to open an account because it did not recognize the difference in the security elements between the old e-passport and the new e-passport. recently reported

In response, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “We are investigating the exact reason through the competent diplomatic mission abroad.” Another foreign ministry official also met with reporters on the same day and said, “We are investigating (two) specific cases.”

First of all, these two cases of inconvenience have been raised so far, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is investigating whether there are additional cases through former diplomatic missions abroad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs started issuing all new e-passports with a polycarbonate (PC) type personal information side from December 21, last year. From 2020, diplomatic and official passports have been issued as new models, and the target of issuance has been expanded to the general public as well. By the 15th of this month, about 200,000 new e-passports have been issued and used.

The obligatory wearing of masks on flights to the United States has been extended by another month.
According to a CNBC economic media report on the 10th, the Federal Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) announced on the 10th that it has decided to extend the deadline for the mandatory wearing of masks for users of public transport such as airplanes, airports, trains and buses until April 18th. . TSA’s mandatory mask policy was originally scheduled to end on the 19th of this month.

The brief one-month extension is being interpreted as the fact that the Joe Biden administration and other local governments are lifting mandatory mask-wearing measures as the spread of the Omicron Corona 19 mutation has recently subsided.

Given the recent atmosphere, it seems highly likely that the mandatory mask-wearing measure in the United States will end during the spring season of this year, and this extension is expected to be the last extension.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said: “Over the next month, we plan to keep pace with sharing information on general policy changes, such as when and how, for mandatory mask-wearing measures on public transportation with government departments.”

Since its inauguration last January, the Biden administration has implemented a policy requiring passengers on planes, trains, subways, taxis, ships and public vehicles to wear masks. Public transit users in the United States aged 2 years and older must wear a face mask.

As far as mandatory mask-wearing measures go, the US airline industry has a problem with passengers who refuse to wear masks on board.

Uber, the U.S. ride-hailing service, has decided to impose a fuel surcharge after oil prices soared in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
It has been reported that Uber will raise its fares from the 16th of this month.

A fuel surcharge of 45-55 cents is levied for car calls, and customers using food delivery service Uber Eats must pay an additional charge of 35-45 cents.
Uber said it will impose a fuel surcharge as gasoline prices hit an all-time high, and the increase will be used to cover the cost of fuel for drivers.
Uber has decided to apply the fuel surcharge for at least 60 days and consider whether to extend it while monitoring the price of gasoline.

Business Insider, an economic media outlet, said that Uber introduced a surcharge after gasoline prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that US sanctions against Russia could further increase oil prices.

The US has imposed an import ban on Russian oil, gas and coal resulting in the average price of gasoline in the U.S. as of March 12 was $4.326 per gallon according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The United States on Wednesday completely rejected a proposal to supply Polish MiG-29 fighters to the US Army for delivery to Ukraine, considering Warsaw’s offer “dangerous” and capable of provoking Russian outrage.

The day before, Poland visibly surprised the United States by declaring that it was “ready to transfer all MiG-29 aircraft to the German base in Ramstein and provide them to the government free of charge and without delay.” America”.

At the same time, North Korea asked the United States for used aircraft with the same combat capabilities, the Foreign Ministry said.

Washington on Tuesday said it was continuing talks with Warsaw, immediately expressing surprise, saying the proposal was “not feasible.” The Pentagon then rejected it on Wednesday.
“I believe that the addition of aircraft to Ukrainian service will not significantly change the effectiveness of the Ukrainian Air Force compared to their Russian capabilities in the air,” said John Kirby.

The United States has confirmed that they have allocated and deployed two new Patriot anti-aircraft batteries to Poland. The deployment of batteries is a part of its commitment to defend NATO territories.

The Kremlin has previously criticized Poland’s offer to supply MiG-29s, saying it creates a “very undesirable and potentially dangerous scenario.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday pleaded for Westerners to make their decision as soon as possible on the issue of supplying and sending planes.
“Make a decision as soon as possible and send us a plane!” he called for “immediate action” on the Polish proposal in a video on the Telegram channel.

The US said on the 8th that each country decides whether other allies will join its ban on Russian oil imports.
Unlike the US, which has imposed other economic sanctions on Russia, such as export controls and financial sanctions, to encourage alliance participation, the US has taken a position that it does not intend to pressure participation, citing differences in each country’s circumstances regarding the embargo. for crude oil.

“I would say that each country will make its own decisions,” White House press secretary Jen Saki said at a briefing on Wednesday.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm also told CNBC she would not pressure the alliance to do the same with the United States when it comes to importing Russian oil and energy.
Russia accounts for 3% of US crude oil imports and 8%, including petroleum products. Gas from Russia is not imported.

On the other hand, Europe depends on Russia for 40% of gas and 25% of oil.

A senior US official also pointed out at a press briefing that the US could impose an embargo due to massive domestic energy production and infrastructure.
The official said the US is a leading producer and net exporter of oil and gas, and US energy companies have the resources and incentives to increase US production.
According to him, thousands of drilling permits have already been issued on federal lands alone.

This means that the US, an oil-rich country, can increase production relatively easily, unlike Europe.

President Biden also said, “We produce more crude oil domestically than all European countries combined. In fact, we are a net energy exporter.”
This is interpreted as an underlying understanding that maintaining unity is not as easy as other economic sanctions, as seen in a situation where there are pros and cons of import bans due to Russia’s energy dependency in Europe.

This trend is likely to be a factor in easing some of the burden on Korea, which has joined the international community in sanctions against Russia.
This is because if the US position that this should be decided according to the circumstances of each country is implemented as it is, the Korean government will have more opportunities to autonomously resolve the embargo issue according to its own conditions and circumstances.

It is also worth watching the situation in which Europe, which was “perfect” with the US and other sanctions, is not able to speak out with one voice, expressing disagreements over a ban on crude oil imports.
However, Europe is also not able to immediately reduce its dependence on Russia, and in the medium and long term sets the course for a break with the Russian energy sector, so the likelihood of a “post-Russian” trend is created in some way quite a lot.