Israel and South Korea have been added to Abu Dhabi’s ‘green list’ of destinations, the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT) announced on Monday.

Passengers arriving from the green list destinations are exempt from mandatory quarantine measures after landing in Abu Dhabi and will only be required to undergo PCR testing upon arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport.

The DCT said that the new list, which includes 14 destinations, will be in effect from April 5.

The previous update was released on March 22, and included 12 destinations.

Last month, the UAE and Israel began formal discussions to establish a quarantine-free travel corridor between the two countries.

Israel currently has the highest rate of vaccine doses administered per capita, with more than half of its population having received both doses of the vaccine.

Read: UAE, Israel consider quarantine-free travel corridor for fully vaccinated individuals

The addition of the country also comes as Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad Airways prepares to start direct flights to Tel Aviv this week.

Read: Exclusive: Etihad’s CFO on restructuring, recovery from Covid crisis

“Inclusion in the list is subject to strict criteria of health and safety to ensure the well-being of the UAE community,” the DCT said.

The list also only applies to countries passengers are arriving from rather than citizenship.

Updated green list as of April 5, 2021:
• Australia
• Bhutan
• Brunei
• China
• Greenland
• Hong Kong (SAR)
• Iceland
• Israel
• Mauritius
• Morocco
• New Zealand
• Saudi Arabia
• Singapore
• South Korea

Countries, regions, and territories included within the ‘green list’ are regularly updated based on international development.

DCT Abu Dhabi will also continue to issue updates on the list and overall travel status in the coming months, it said.