COVID-19 is a ticking time bomb for Europe’s tourism industry, says the EESC The Coronavirus pandemic is wreaking havoc on Europe’s tourism sector. In six months’ time half of the businesses may be gone unless the EU steps in quickly, says the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in a new opinion. On world tourism…
Members of Parliament’s Tourism Task Force reiterate that the tourism sector needs EU-level coordination and substantial support to give SMEs a chance of survival. The Transport and Tourism Committee met on Wednesday with travel and tourism stakeholders to take stock of the dire situation facing the sector and to discuss ways to overcome this unprecedented…
Brussels Airport complies with the recommendations by ICAO and the protocol issued by EASA/ECDC to ensure that it has Airport Health Accreditation. The Airport makes every effort to ensure that their facilities are hygienic and safe to welcome passengers. The combination of the various health safety measures allows them to meet the highest standards, and to satisfy…
Interview with Jean-Pierre Martin, General manager Emirates Belgium and Luxemburg Q: Can you spell out the impact of the pandemic on your airline-business? A: On 25 March, Emirates temporarily suspended all passenger flights as directed by our regulator the UAE GCAA. That hit us hard and we regret the impact on our customers, but Emirates fully supports Dubai and the UAE’s…
The Test Centre at Brussels Airport for COVID-19 will open on Monday 14 September. At this Test Centre, passengers can get a COVID-19 test on site at the airport. The Test Centre will also be open to those who are not travelling but need to have a test taken for contact tracing purposes. From 14th of…
The European Commission has approved an investment of over €234 million from the cohesion fund to upgrade almost 117km of the Skawina-Zakopane railway line in Southern Poland. The project will improve the quality, efficiency and safety of railway transport between the towns of Skawina and Zakopane, and more generally on the Kraków-Zakopane corridor. Commissioner for…
Renovation of runway 07L/25R at Brussels Airport has been completed on schedule. The contractors worked day and night, 7 days a week, to limit the duration of the runway closure and the impact of these works. Because of the corona crisis, this happened in a period with much less air traffic than usual. The thorough…
Testing for COVID-19 will soon be possible at Brussels Airport thanks to the installation of a mobile laboratory. From the beginning of September, the mobile laboratory at Brussels Airport will enable passengers to obtain tests for Covid-19. This means that passengers returning from a red zone can be tested as soon as they arrive at…
Good news for the economy, but less so for noise and air pollution affecting residents living near Zaventem Airport. Since the resumption of non-essential flights on 15 June this year, the number of passengers handled at Brussels Airport has risen, but remains 80% below July 2019 figures. This means that in July, for the first…
Rail should play a prominent role in the EU’s future mobility and become the primary form of transport. For this reason, the EESC is pleased to support the European Commission in proposing to mark 2021 as the Year of Rail. In the opinion approved at the July plenary session and drafted by Alberto Mazzola, the Committee…
