Indians with UAE residency visas can fly back

Our Correspondent

With effect from June 23, 2021 passengers from India with a valid UAE residence visa, who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine, are allowed to travel to Dubai.

The rules have been relaxed for travellers from South Africa and Nigeria too. Transit passengers should comply with entry protocols of final destinations.

The Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai, headed by H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced the latest updates to Dubai’s travel protocols on June 19.

Resident Indians should also possess a negative PCR result from a test taken 48 hours before departure. UAE nationals are exempt from this requirement. Only QR-coded negative PCR test certificates are accepted. Furthermore, passengers from India are required to undergo a rapid PCR test four hours prior to departure to Dubai. They must also undergo another PCR test on arrival in Dubai. Following arrival, passengers from India should undergo institutional quarantine until they receive their PCR test result, which is expected within 24 hours.

UAE citizens and diplomats are exempted from institutional quarantine.

The Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said the updated travel protocols are part of a regular process of revising and optimising precautionary measures based on the latest local, regional and international developments. They are also aimed at enabling the city to continue serving as a global commercial hub and a bridge for travel and trade between the east and west.

The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) announced the suspension of all inbound flights for national and international carriers coming from Liberia, Sierra Leon, and Namibia, effective 23:59 on June 21.

The travel suspension includes inbound transit passengers with the exception of transit flights coming to the UAE and heading to these countries, the GCAA said in a statement. It indicated that for those coming from these African countries through other countries, the period of stay in the latter countries should not be less than 14 days to be allowed access to the UAE.

Cargo flights between these countries and the UAE will continue as usual, the statement added.