June 6, 2017

A man was shot after he tried to attack a police officer near Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

The New York Times reports:

Visitors and worshipers at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris were told not to leave on Tuesday afternoon, and the square in front of the Gothic landmark was evacuated, following an unconfirmed report of a shooting.

A police officer had shot a man who tried to attack him with a hammer, according to Guillaume Biet, a reporter for the network Europe 1.

Other French journalists also reported that shots had been fired at the cathedral.

That account could not be immediately confirmed. The Paris police said only that a police operation was underway and that people should avoid the area.

According to BBC News:

French police say they have shot a man outside the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, after he tried to attack an officer using a hammer.

Police have closed the area and are asking people to stay away. Reports say the attacker has been injured and his condition is not clear.

Eyewitnesses reported tourists fleeing for cover.

France is in a state of emergency since attacks by jihadists in Paris left 130 people dead in 2015.

Please contact the PR Team if you have any questions or concerns: TravelLeadersGroupPR@TravelLeaders.com.

June 6, 2017

A domestic flight in Australia was evacuated, today, due to a bomb hoax.

The BBC reports:

A Virgin Australia plane has been evacuated after a threatening note was found on a domestic flight from Sydney to Albury, police have said. Passengers were forced out an emergency exit window of the 68-seat plane after it landed safely in Albury on Tuesday. A male passenger, 30, was arrested and charged over a “document threatening death or grievous bodily harm”. Police did not disclose the alleged details of the note, found in a toilet, but said it was not terror-related. A Virgin Australia spokesman said flight VA1174 arrived safely at Albury airport and was met by police.

According to The Australian:

The arrested passenger was said to be calm throughout the flight. He read a novel and went to the bathroom once.

Local police congratulated cabin crew and passengers for the swift evacuation. “The plane landed at 9.35am and within five minutes we had the plane and the occupants secure and safe,” Albury commander Superintendent Evan Quarmby told reporters. “All of the occupants of the aeroplane were evacuated safely, very efficiently and should all be congratulated on the assistance they’ve given to police this morning.”

It was initially reported the doors of the plane were “ripped off” by authorities but Virgin later clarified they were opened from the inside, likely by cabin crew. Passengers were told to leave their luggage and jump about 1.2 metres from the exits onto the tarmac.

Please contact the PR Team if you have any questions or concerns: TravelLeadersGroupPR@TravelLeaders.com.

June 6, 2017

Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Yemen have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, because of accusations it supports the Muslim Brotherhood – an Islamist group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain first cut ties on Monday morning. Egypt, Yemen, Libya’s interim government, and UAE, encouraged by Saudi authorities to do the same, quickly followed suit. They are preparing to expel diplomats, close off borders, and institute a travel ban on flights to and from the country. Kuwait and Oman are the only Gulf Cooperation Council members retaining ties.

The five major Gulf airlines have issued statements and travel waiver policies: Gulf Air, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, and Saudia.

From Travel Leaders Group’s Airline Relations team:

Because of the recent political events, customers may feel uncomfortable flying QR to connecting points beyond Qatar. If that’s the case, please follow QR’s policy on refunds and rebook them on EK as the first option and EY as the second to any point beyond, not to Qatar. If they want a connection to DOH look at LH.

Qatar Airways flights will need to alter flight times to allow for different flight paths. Flights to/from the US will now go over Turkey and Iran.

According to BBC News:

Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authorities have banned Qatari planes from landing or stopping at its airports, as well as crossing Saudi airspace.

Egypt has also closed off its airspace to flights originating from Qatar, and said all flights between the two countries would be halted from 04:00 GMT on Tuesday and “continue until further notice.”

Airlines from many of the affected countries, including Bahrain’s Gulf Air, Etihad Airways and Emirates, say they plan to cancel flights to and from the Qatari capital Doha starting from Tuesday morning.

Budget carriers, such as Fly Dubai and Air Arabia, have also cancelled routes to Doha.

Qatar Airways’ has arranged for three charter flights today from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia – via Muscat – to Doha, Qatar. To learn more, go here.

The refund policy for Qatar Airways’ includes:

Passengers who have purchased their tickets from Qatar Airways have the following options to refund their tickets:

• 1. For tickets booked on qatarairways.com, they can: • Go to Refund requests;
• • They can approach their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or

• • They can call the Qatar Airways contact centre at +974 4023 0072.

• • 2. For tickets booked through a Qatar Airways Office or through the Contact Centre, passengers can • Contact their nearest Qatar Airways Office; or
  • • Call Qatar Airways Contact Centre on +974 4023 0072

The refund will be made to the original form of payment and the refund will be processed within 14 – 28 days. Passengers who have purchased their Qatar Airways tickets through a Travel Agency can request their refund from the issuing Travel Agent

Please contact the PR Team if you have any questions or concerns: TravelLeadersGroupPR@TravelLeaders.com.

June 4, 2017

London police arrested 12 people after yesterday’s London terror attack, which left seven people dead and 48 injured. Three suspects in a van had plowed through pedestrians on London Bridge. The attackers, wearing fake bomb vests, jumped from the van and stabbed people on the street and in bars in the Borough Market area.

According to the Transport for London, which operates the city trains, the London Bridge Underground station remained closed on Sunday, with service being offered by bus. Waterloo and City lines train service plans to resume Monday morning. There are partial closures for the London Overground, Hammersmith and other areas.

According to the BBC:

The arrests in Barking, east London, followed a raid at a flat belonging to one of the three attackers.

A white van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at about 22:00 BST on Saturday, then three men got out and stabbed people in nearby Borough Market. They were shot dead by police minutes later.

Condemning the attack, Theresa May said it was “time to say enough is enough”.

Controlled explosions were also carried out at the flat in Barking on Sunday morning.

According to neighbours, the dead attacker had lived there for about three years and was married with two children.

It is the third terror attack in the UK in three months, following the car and knife attack in Westminster in March, which left five people dead, and the Manchester bombing less than two weeks ago, in which 22 people were killed.

CBS News is reporting: A resort in Manila was placed on lockdown early Friday following reports of gunfire.

“Resorts World Manila is currently on lockdown following reports of gunfire from unidentified men,” the resort posted to its Twitter feed.

The U.S. State Department urged people to avoid the area.

Please contact the PR Team if you have any questions or concerns: TravelLeadersGroupPR@TravelLeaders.com.

June 1, 2017

Resorts World Manila is on lock down after gunfire and explosions erupted at the resorts-casino complex in Pasay City shortly after midnight. The number of injuries or the extent of injuries is unknown.

According to CNN:

The popular Filipino tourist site Resorts World Manila is on lockdown after reports of gunfire and explosions.

A masked gunman was on the second floor of one hotel, firing at guests, hotel employees fleeing the scene told CNN Philippines.

Police, fire trucks and SWAT teams were seen in the area at about 1:30 a.m. local time Friday. Heavily-armed SWAT officers wearing bullet proof vests and body armor also descended on the scene, Camille Abadicio of CNN Philippines said.

Resorts World Manila, also known as RWM, is a resort complex in Newport City, a residential and commercial center in metropolitan Manila.

RWM has an array of hotels, restaurants and bars. Tourists flock to the complex for its casino, shopping mall, cinema and theater.

CBS News is reporting:

A resort in Manila was placed on lockdown early Friday following reports of gunfire.

“Resorts World Manila is currently on lockdown following reports of gunfire from unidentified men,” the resort posted to its Twitter feed. The U.S. State Department urged people to avoid the area.

Please contact the PR Team if you have any questions or concerns: TravelLeadersGroupPR@TravelLeaders.com.