The UAE is home to thousands of British expatriates and is also a hub for travelers to the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.
Britain bans direct passenger flights to and from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Friday, closing down the world’s busiest international air route from Dubai to London.
Britain said it was adding UAE, Burundi and Rwanda to its coronavirus travel ban list due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19 outbreaks that are more infectious and potentially against vaccines first identified in South Africa.
“This means that people who have been or have moved through these countries will not be refused entry, except British, Irish and third-country nationals with residency rights who must separate themselves for ten days at home, “UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on social media on Thursday.
Emirates and Etihad Airways said on their websites that they would suspend UK passenger flights from 13:00 GMT on Friday when the ban takes effect.
The UK transport department has advised British nationals currently in the UAE to make use of indirect commercial air routes if they wished to return to Britain.
Dubai to London became the busiest international route in the world in January with 190,365 seats registered over the month, according to airline data provider OAG.
Pandemic destination
The UAE is home to thousands of British expatriates and has been a popular destination for social media influencers at the time of the pandemic, which has created upheaval in the UK with mentioning travel to work and then posting holiday photos online. The country is currently locked up with people saying no to travel abroad.
Last week Dubai went down on its entertainment scene and stopped unnecessary surgery in hospitals after a spike in coronavirus cases.
One of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, Dubai has established itself in this northern hemisphere winter as an open, sunny and quarantined escape.
But COVID-19 infections have gone up since the New Year.
UAE, Emirates and Etihad flag carriers also carry large numbers of passengers connecting with Britain to destinations such as Australia and so the decision will have a far-reaching impact. cancel flights.
The Australian government said it would send more charter flights from Britain if needed as a result of the ban.
Eran Ben-Avraham, an Australian who is missing in Britain due to tight limits on the number of people arriving in Australia, said his options for getting home were constantly declining.
“At the moment it only gives us three options for flying Qatar, ANA or Singapore Airlines,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “Every day it makes it harder to get home. The flights are back anywhere from such as 4,000 pounds ($ 5,487). “