More flight services facilitating travel between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will begin on Saturday, which is welcome news for passengers looking to fly to the UAE from India (August 7). Flights to Abu Dhabi from a number of Indian cities will resume on August 7, according to Etihad Airways, the UAE’s second-largest airline and flag carrier. The airline announced that more such flights will begin on August 10 (Tuesday) from three additional cities.
The UAE hasn’t completely lifted the travel ban on India, so not everyone will be able to visit the country. Travel to the UAE is now restricted to UAE citizens and transit passengers from India.
In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, the UAE has lifted the transit ban for travellers from six countries, including India. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Nigeria, and Uganda have all been exempted from the ban.
India-UAE flights:
Etihad Airways will operate India-UAE flights from the international airports of Chennai, Kochi, Bengaluru, Trivandrum, and New Delhi between August 7 (Saturday) and August 9 (Monday). The airline will resume similar flight services from three additional cities beginning next Tuesday: Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Mumbai.
Flights from India to cities in the United Arab Emirates, such as Sharjah and Dubai, began earlier this week on Thursday (August 5). In the early hours of Thursday, two flights operated by the UAE airlines Air Arabia and Emirates (one service each) departed from Kerala’s Cochin International Airport.
At 3:50 a.m., Air Arabia flight G9-426 to Sharjah took off with 69 passengers on board, while Emirates flight EK 531 to Dubai took off with 99 passengers. At 10.30 a.m., the flight took off.
India-UAE flights: Covid-19 guidelines
According to the UAE’s new travel guidelines, Indians with resident visas who are fully vaccinated in the UAE and have completed 14 days after the second dose will be allowed to enter the country upon registration with either the GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs) in Dubai or the ICA (Federal Authority of Identity and Citizenship) in Abu Dhabi.
In a tweet, UAE’s National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) said, “These categories include those with valid residency permits who have received full vaccination doses in the UAE and 14 days have passed since receiving the second dose and who have vaccination certificates approved by the official authorities in the country.”
All visitors to Abu Dhabi will be subjected to a 10-day mandatory quarantine. During the quarantine period, the passengers will also be required to wear a medically approved tracking wristband provided by the airport authorities.
