Customers who book return Economy tickets to Dubai from 2 to 23 December for travel from 6 Dec 2020 to 28 Feb 2021 will be eligible for a complimentary one-night stay at the JW Marriot Marquis on their first night in Dubai. While travellers booked in First and Business Class will receive two complimentary nights’ stay from the day of arrival. For more information visit: Click here

The fares valid from India for economy class starts from Rs.17,514; for business class it starts from Rs.65,783 and for first class it starts from Rs. 1,92,638.

Any Indian national holding a valid UAE visa and destined for UAE only can travel under the air bubble arrangement, valid till the end of December 2020.The tourists will be required to present a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate valid for 96 hours from the date of the test before departure.

Fly better on Emirates and enjoy over 4,500 channels of entertainment on ice – the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, as well as regionally inspired meals and complimentary beverages.

Emirates customers can travel with peace of mind with the airline’s flexible booking options, generous baggage allowance and newly introduced multi-risk travel insurance, including COVID-19 cover with every flight. Emirates has also implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees.

Emirates has been rated the safest airline in the world in its response to the COVID-19 Pandemic according to the Safe Travel Barometer. It has the highest ‘Safe Travel Score’ among 230+ airlines evaluated worldwide. The score is based on an independent audit of 26 health and safety parameters evaluating safety protocols, traveller convenience and service excellence announced by airlines.

Dubai is open and ready to welcome tourists with the highest levels of safety protocols in place to keep its residents and visitors safe. The vibrant, cosmopolitan city has an eclectic mix of offerings including impressive beaches, world-class shopping, and fine dining restaurants.

What does a holiday in Dubai look like?

As a safety precaution, all passengers arriving in Dubai must take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test up to four days prior to their date of travel (maximum 96 hours). You may be required to take another test at Dubai Airports upon arrival.Children under the age of 12 and passengers with a severe or moderate disability are exempt from the PCR test.More information here

Masks and social distancing

In Dubai, it is mandatory to wear a mask in public places at all times including on Emirates flights, however children below the age of six who struggle with wearing masks are exempted from wearing them. You can remove your mask when you are seated at a restaurant or café. Social distancing is also practised throughout the city and at all venues including on public transport.

Hotels, malls and indoor venues

Hotels in Dubai including the JW Marriot Marquis use contactless check in and rooms are sanitised for safety. All indoor venues including malls enforce mandatory temperature checks at the entrance and employ digital safety guidelines including contactless menus at restaurants.
Outdoor activities

Dubai is a haven for thrill seekers and all outdoor and sports activities are operating with safety restrictions and protocols. This includes helicopter rides, hot air balloons, desert safari, desert camping, dhow cruises, kayaking and more. All sports activities that can be practised individually or with 5 people or less have resumed. This includes sky diving and renting of jet skis, boats and bicycles.

Dubai’s beaches are open and safe with social distancing. Global Village has also opened on 25 October 2020 for its 25th season, with strict precautionary measures in place.

For more information visit: Click here

Flexibility and assurance: Emirates’ booking policies offer customers flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers who purchase an Emirates ticket for travel on or before 31 March 2021, can enjoy generous rebooking terms and options, if they have to change their travel plans. Customers have options to change their travel dates or extend their ticket validity for 2 years.

Travel with confidence: All Emirates customers can travel with confidence and extra peace of mind with the airline’s industry first, multi-risk travel insurance and COVID-19 cover. This generous cover is offered by Emirates on all tickets purchased on or from 1 December 2020, at no cost to customers. In addition to COVID-19 medical cover, this latest offer from Emirates also has provisions for personal accidents during travel, winter sports cover, loss of personal belongings, and trip disruptions due to unexpected air space closure, travel recommendations or advisories, similar to other multi-risk travel insurance products.

Health and safety: Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit: Click here

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The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, lit up in purple and gold to wish team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) good luck ahead of their first IPL match on September 23 against Mumbai Indians. The LED display had the faces of the KKR team members including its captain Dinesh Karthik, and played their anthem.

However, luck was elusive as the team lost to Mumbai Indians by 49 runs in the match at the Abu Dhabi cricket stadium. Captain Rohit Sharma’s opening knock of 80 off 54 balls steered MI to a convincing victory.Rohit’s knock included six sixes and three fours.

Rohit’s90-run second-wicket stand with Suryakumar Yadav (47) frustrated the Knight Riders. Next came Saurabh Tiwary (21) and Hardik Pandya (18) who helped MI reach 195-5 in 20 overs.

Kolkata could post only 146-9 in reply, way short of their target.Jasprit Bumrah (2-32) dismissed KKR’sstar batsmen Andre Russell (11) and Eoin Morgan (16).Russell and Morgan seemed capable of resuscitating KKR, which had slipped to 77-4, back Bumrah broke up their partnership in the 16th over.

Trent Boult, James Pattinson and Rahul Chahar also finished with two wickets each in an all-round effort from Mumbai’s bowling team.

MI has thus rebounded from the opening loss to Chennai Super Kings.

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From Etisalat to Noor Bank, changing trains at Union and passing the Burj Khalifa station, my first ride on the Dubai Metro to meet a friend in Jumeirah remains unforgettable. Since then, the occasional metro ride alone, usually in the Women & Children carriage, has been relaxing and fun – watching carefree shoppers, chattering student crowd and of course, and preoccupied working women on their way to work. A sea of humanity quietly leaves the carriage at each air-conditioned station, up the steps or elevator and out into the sun.
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The cacophony that characterised the Chennai local trains and Metro was endearing in its own way – women selling flowers, vegetables, the blind selling trinkets or singing a mournful number and the random fishmonger sitting on the train floor with her basket on her way home – but the flawless precision and absolute cleanliness with which the Dubai Metro functions make me want no more. No eating, chewing gum or drinking water in this automated Metro that is the pride of the emirate of Dubai.

On September 9, 2020, the Dubai Metro celebrated its 11th birthday. As always, residents remembered with gratitude the grit and vision of the HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the Vice-President of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai, who made this dream possible.

Parvathi S., a college-goer who often uses the train service, says: “Dubai metro will always have a very special place in my heart. It has made life simple, comfortable and so much easier. For a student like me, Dubai Metro has always been a life-saver. Reaching school, university or any place in Dubai has become very easy thanks to the metro service. The happiness of getting a seat during a long ride is one of those little moments that make the metro journey memorable. Thank you Dubai Metro for your 11 years of exemplary service.”

A good many secondary school children who attend schools near the train stations patronise the Dubai Metro too. And for teens like my son, wanting to chill out with friends on the weekend, the Metro provides a safe and economical means of transport. In fact, it is part of the adventure too. For tourists and residents alike, a Metro ride adds to the experiences that make up Dubai. It can easily be called the city’s most popular mode of public transport.

Over 1.5 billion riders have used the Dubai Metro until now, with a daily ridership of 650,000 reported last year. The number of Dubai Metro riders on its Red and Green Lines reached 202.98 million riders in 2019. Burjuman and Union stations, interchange stations on the Red and Green Lines, accounted for 12.76 million and 10.6 million riders respectively.

Route 2020, a 15km extension of the Red Line to the Expo 2020 site, with seven stations in between, was recently inaugurated by Sheikh Mohammed.

“The UAE has exceptional goals and ambitions. Today, we are moving with confidence, determination and a clear vision to attain the highest levels of excellence in various fields. Our objective is to provide people everything that ensures their wellbeing, stability and happiness and establish a prosperous future for the coming generations,” he said at the launch.

It was on 09/09/09 that Sheikh Mohammed gave the green signal to the Dubai Metro when he swiped the first Nol (fare) card to embark on a historic ride on the Red Line from Mall of the Emirates station to Rashidiya at 9:09:09 p.m. At its first stop, Dubai International Financial Centre or DIFC, the good Ruler placed a commemorative gold coin at the station. Since then, the shiny driverless carriage has been transporting residents and tourists across the emirate belying predictions that a city of cars and fast lanes will not find the public transport attractive. Today, many prefer to leave their cars parked at home or at the Park-and-Ride terminals and take a hassle-free and reliable metro ride to their destinations.

It saves them the hassle of navigating through peak hour traffic jams, or the fear of flouting a traffic rule and incurring a fine. Moreover, there is company in a train carriage unlike in a car – though in pandemic times, human company induces fear and social distancing is the order of the day.

When COVID-19 brought the world to a standstill, the Dubai Metro, like all public transport in the UAE, was completely halted for a two-week period in April. The National Sterilisation drive disinfected 47 stations and 79 trains of Dubai Metro before train services resumed on April 26. New safety and preventive measures are in place now, which instil confidence in the commuter.

“Al abwab toglaq. Doors closing,” reminds the much-loved voice of the metro as I enter a carriage, gloved and masked, for a Friday jaunt.

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Plans to develop the world’s largest solar power plant in the deserts of the Gulf have been given the go-ahead, with the authorities in the UAE awarding the project to a multinational consortium on July 26.

The state-owned Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has awarded the contract for the 2GW plant to Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa), another local firm Masdar, French utility company EDF and China’s JinkoPower.

EDF said the Abu Dhabi solar photovoltaic plant would have a capacity of 2 GW, which would make it the largest single-project solar plant in the world, generating the equivalent electricity to power more than 160,000 households each year.

EDF and Jinko Power will each hold a 20% stake in the project, while the remaining 60% will be held by Abu Dhabi firms TAQA and Masdar. The companies are set to start construction by the end of 2020, and the project is expected to generate more than 4,000 jobs during the construction phase.

At present, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park — named after the emirate’s ruler and the UAE’s Vice-President and Prime Minister and expected to be completed in 2030 – is the largest such plant in the world. The $13.6 billion investment could power as many as 1.3 million homes, reducing carbon emissions by 6.5 million tonnes annually.

First announced in 2012 and with a scheduled completion date of 2030, the 5,000-megawatt solar park will take three times as long to finish as the Burj Khalifa. Phases one and two, which are already complete, comprised 2.3 million photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 213 megawatts. Phase three, deep in construction, adds over 3 million photovoltaics and another 800 megawatts, and will be completed in 2020, say DEWA.

Recently, the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, awarded the contract for the fifth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to a consortium of companies at 1.69 US cents per kilowatt-hour. This is the world’s lowest price for solar photovoltaic projects based on the independent power producer, IPP, model, and the fifth time DEWA has broken this record, he pointed out.

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