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TOURISM

Disneyland Paris to begin ‘phased reopening’ in July

Disneyland Paris has announced that it will begin a "phased reopening" of the theme park on July 15th, with visitor numbers limited via a new online reservation system to ensure social distancing.

Disneyland Paris to begin 'phased reopening' in July
Photo: AFP

Visitors aged 11 and older will have to wear face masks, and many shows and events will remain suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, the resort said.

A first hotel at the site, which usually has some 15 million visitors per year, will open July 15th, followed by staggered openings of others through the summer.

The phased reopening will see “enhanced health and safety measures implemented for both cast members and guests,” the company said in a statement.

Same-day ticket sales will no longer be available, and people with non-dated tickets or annual passes will have to reserve spots.

The park has also suspended the “FastPass” service that lets people reserve time slots for certain rides “to allow for the necessary queue management”.

To encourage people to come despite uncertainty over how the coronavirus outbreak will unfold, the resort is allowing people to cancel or modify their Disney Hotel reservations without cost up to seven days before arrival.

Some 16,000 people work at the resort, which began halting shows and limiting the number of people inside even before France's nationwide lockdown took effect in mid-March, after some maintenance workers tested positive for Covid-19.

“We are thrilled to see one of the main tourism destinations in Europe and the largest single-site employer in France reopen to guests and its
employees,” Sophie Huberson of France's SNELAC leisure industry association said in response to Disney's announcement.

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TRAVEL NEWS

Aarhus Airport to get easier connections with new code-sharing deal

Passengers travelling from Aarhus Airport using Scandinavian airline SAS are likely to find more convenient onwards connections from September.

Aarhus Airport to get easier connections with new code-sharing deal

Convenient connections to European hub airports in Amsterdam and Paris will become easier to find from Aarhus Airport from September.

A code-sharing agreement between Scandinavian airline SAS and Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines means that flight codes from those airlines – and more efficient connections via Copenhagen – will appear at Aarhus, the Jutland airport said in a press release on Tuesday.

The agreement gives Aarhus Airport passengers access to over 1,000 European destinations through so-called SkyTeam network.

For example, the code-sharing networks cuts journey times from Aarhus (via Copenhagen) to Amsterdam Schiphol to 2 hours 50 minutes, and to Paris CDG to 3 hours and 50 minutes.

“We are becoming more global. With only 30 minutes’ driving time from Aarhus, people in the region can save a huge amount of time flying from Aarhus Airport to an impressive number of Air France, KLM or SkyTeam destinations,” the airport’s director Lotta Sandsgaard said in the press release.

The agreement “has great significance for the international business environment in the Aarhus region and in a tourism perspective for a booming sector by attracting travellers from European and overseas markets,” she added.

The SK flight code, one of the codes which will be used at Aarhus under the agreement, is operated by Air France and KLM from their respective hubs. This means destinations including Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Porto, Newcastle, Southampton, Cardiff, Venice and Naples as well as Marrakesh, Tunis and Casablanca in North Africa can be booked.

Destinations including Las Vegas, Denver, Seattle, Orlando, Cincinnati, Montreal, Vancouver, Detroit and Salt Lake City and more can also be booked with Air France and KLM to and from Aarhus Airport.

Travellers in Aarhus will also see new connections between SAS and Delta-operated flights to dozens of destinations across the USA and Canada via Delta’s North American network. The deal means they can travel to these destinations with one check-in at Aarhus Airport’s SAS counter.

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