The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has again extended the international flights ban from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan till August 1. The restrictions are applicable on all types of visas which means people from these countries will have to wait longer to travel to the UAE.
On April 24, the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority had banned all inbound flights from India to Dubai until further notice. This was the time when India was struggling with the deadly second wave of the virus.
Then on July 18, Etihad Airlines, a UAE-based airline, suspended its flights from six countries including India until July 31 because of the virus. But exceptions were made for UAE nationals, diplomats and for ‘Golden Visa’ holders. All they needed to do was to conduct a PCT test maximum of 48 hours before the flight departure.
Though Etihad has set July 31 as the date for resumption of flights, there is no confirmation of a date from the government yet. According to travel industry experts, expats should wait to make their flight bookings. As of now, there are some airlines that are offering non-refundable tickets but it is better to wait before making any flight booking.
Dubai is among the popular destinations for both leisure and business travellers from India, Bangladesh and several other South Asian countries. Since the number of cases had gone down drastically in India, people demanded to reopen flights on this route. So Dubai partially removed the ban allowing three categories of travellers to enter the UAE, which are UAE citizens, diplomats on official duty, and Golden Visa holders.
