Tag Archives: security

AIDA Cruises Cancels 2025-26 Season in the Middle East

Posted on by
Reply

AIDA Cruises Cancels 2025-26 Season in the Middle East

AIDA Cruises is cancelling its 2025-26 season in the Middle East due to security concerns in the region.

It impacts sailings set to take place on the AIDAprima between October 3, 2025, and March 25, 2026.

In a statement sent to booked guests, the company noted that the vessel will now sail in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Islands during this timeframe.

“With this decision, the company wants to provide its guests with reliable clarity about their vacation trips in the coming winter season as early as possible. At the same time, the safety of guests and crew is our top priority,” AIDA reportedly said.

In addition, cruise lines are said to be concerned about transit time around Africa if they cannot transit the Suez Canal.

The company also noted that the safety of its guests and crew is a top priority, adding that the “situation in the Middle East cannot currently be reliably assessed for the foreseeable future.”

The new itineraries will sail from Kiel and Hamburg, visiting destinations in the North and Baltic Seas, as well as the Canary Islands.

Bookings for the new AIDAprima sailings will open on July 30, 2025, cruisetricks.de reported.

Affected guests are being offered rebooking alternatives, in addition to a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) valued at ten per cent of the fare paid for the cancelled cruises.

AIDA had been offering itineraries in the Middle East for nearly two decades.

Excluding the pandemic years, the company’s 2025-26 season will be the first without a ship sailing from UAE ports.

AIDA first introduced itineraries in the region during the winter of 2006-07, with the AIDAcara offering weeklong cruises from Dubai.

Other ships that sailed in the region over the years include the AIDAdiva, the AIDAblu, the AIDAstella, the AIDAprima and the AIDAnova.

With the AIDAprima repositioning to Northern Europe and the Canaries, AIDA also cancelled some sailings that were scheduled to take place onboard the AIDAbella in early 2026.

Port Canaveral CEO Supports Executive Order for Cybersecurity Regulations

Posted on by
Reply

Following a new executive order to create cybersecurity regulations for U.S. Ports issued by the Biden administration, Capt. John Murray, the CEO of Port Canaveral expressed his support for the measures, according to a press release.

On Wednesday, Feb. 21., the Biden administration issued multiple cybersecurity directives aimed at shoring up vulnerabilities at US maritime ports that could be exploited by hackers and addressing security risks from Chinese-made cranes, according to CNN.

This new executive order will require U.S. ships and port facilities to report cyberattacks while giving the Coast Guard greater authority to inspect or control ships that present a known or suspected cyber threat.

In addition, the Coast Guard will impose new cybersecurity requirements on the operators of the Chinese-made cranes to mitigate the risk they pose, according to Rear Adm. John Vann, head of the Coast Guard Cyber Command.

Murray hailed the decision and said: “Maritime cybersecurity requires constant and consistent efforts for ports.

“Port Canaveral teams have worked closely with the Coast Guard to ensure our IT and port security practices align with state and federal directives. All measures and protections aimed at securing our port community are welcomed.”

Ryanair’s new security feature blocks agent sales

Posted on by
Reply

Ryanair’s new security feature blocks agent sales

Nov 18, 2011 08:00AM GMT

Ryanair has made what is being seen as the most aggressive move yet to prevent travel agents booking its flights using the screen-scraping method.

A new verification step has been added to the Ryanair booking process, identical to the system many sites already utilise to ensure the inquiry is being made by a genuine human being rather than a machine.

It is understood the new procedure, that requires the customer to enter a unique code, was introduced this week. Agents could still book flights manually, but taking large numbers of flights by screen-scraping would be impossible.

On Holiday Group chief executive Steve Endacott said the move could present a major challenge for a number of UK-based dynamic packaging agencies, some of whom he estimated are up to 60% reliant on Ryanair flights.

He believes Ryanair may be unaware of exactly how much business comes from the trade and, despite chief executive Michael O’Leary’s well documented antagonism to travel agents, may come to regret this latest attempt to cut them out.

“They could lose 30% of their business,” he said. “It’s a question of who blinks first; the trade or Ryanair.”

The Irish budget carrier has fought and lost a number of legal cases around Europe in its attempts to prevent third party sales, although many firms are able to get around attempts to stifle screen scraping by using companies based outside of the EU.

Endacott described the move by Ryanair as “deeply anti-consumer”.