UAE lifts travel ban on SA
The United Arab
Emirates (UAE) has joined a list of countries to open its airports to flights
from South Africa.
The move was announced by the Emirates airline in a statement on Thursday.
The UAE was among a long list of countries to reimpose restrictions on travellers coming from South Africa and its neighbouring countries at the end of November.
Flights from Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg have been barred for almost two months, owing to a spike in Covid-19 infections largely driven by the Omicron variant.
The ban on South Africa was largely criticised by politicians and medical experts.
While travellers from SA can enter the UAE from Saturday, strict protocols will remain in place.
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"All passengers travelling from Emirates' African network with Dubai as their final destination require a 48-hour PCR test. Passengers must present a valid negative Covid-19 PCR test certificate with a QR code for a test conducted at an approved facility, and validity must be calculated from the time the sample was collected. Upon arrival in Dubai, passengers will undergo an additional Covid-19 PCR test and remain in self quarantine until the results of the test are received," the airline said.
"Passengers travelling from these destinations and transiting in Dubai are required to follow the rules and requirements of their final destination."
The move will also see the resumption of flights from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya and Zimbabwe.
"Customers flying in and out of Emirates' African gateways can safely connect to Dubai and to an array of onwards connections to Europe, Middle East, the Americas, West Asia and Australasia."