Ethiopia's flag carrier Ethiopian Airlines has started operating flights with fully vaccinated crew against the COVID-19 virus, it said in a statement issued late Wednesday. Operating flights with fully vaccinated crew is a vital move to keep travelers and its crew safe in light of the ongoing pandemic that strongly affected the aviation sector, it said. "We are pleased to operate flights with fully vaccinated crew, a significant step in protecting our employees' and customers' health safety," said Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO of the Ethiopian Airlines. The airline emphasized the positive implication of the recently increasing number of passengers traveling for business and tourism supported by the confidence of vaccination across the world. "We have been squarely focused on working very hard to ensure the safety of our staff and passengers since the pandemic broke out and this is another testament to our continued commitment," it said.<br/>
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Air New Zealand has agreed to a deal with the Queensland Government to provide year-round direct flights to popular destinations in the Australian state. Previously the Auckland-Cairns, Auckland-Sunshine Coast and Christchurch-Gold Coast routes were seasonal services running April to October. Chief Customer and Sales Officer Leanne Geraghty says the extended services will help boost both regions. “Queensland has long been a popular destination for Kiwis looking for a little winter sunshine, and Air New Zealand flew around half of the 500,000 trips taken from New Zealand to Queensland in 2019,” said Geraghty. ”We know Queenslanders also love to visit New Zealand, with nearly 400,000 crossing the Tasman in 2019 to take advantage of the winter ski season or visit friends and relatives.” Barring any trans-Tasman bubble pauses, Air New Zealand currently flies to Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and Hobart. Air New Zealand has also resumed passenger services to Taiwan for the first time since the pandemic began. From August 4 it will begin flying one passenger service a month from Auckland-Taipei as part of the scheme. That route joins Air NZ's other international stops in Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul.<br/>