Flights between India and UAE to remain suspended until July 6 – airline

Air India has said that flights between India and UAE will remain suspended until July 6, 2021.

Responding to a customer query, the carrier took to Twitter to confirm that the decision was in line with travel restrictions announced by the UAE government.

Dear Mr. Shubham, In view of travel restrictions announced by UAE government, flights between India and UAE are suspended till 06th Jul’21. Please keep a watch on our Twitter handle and website for further updates.

— Air India (@airindiain) June 23, 2021

While flights remain suspended, Dubai recently eased restrictions for incoming passengers from India, effective Wednesday, June 23. Those with a valid UAE residence visa, who have received two doses of a ‘UAE-approved vaccine’, are allowed to travel to the emirate, Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management announced on Saturday.

Read: Dubai eases travel guidelines for passengers from India, South Africa and Nigeria

They will need to present a negative PCR test certificate taken 48 hours before departure from India, although UAE nationals are exempt from the requirement.

Headed by @sheikhmansoor, the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management in #Dubai announces updates to Dubai’s travel protocols for inbound passengers from South Africa, Nigeria and India, effective from Wednesday 23 June 2021.https://t.co/Zfma4YWugQ pic.twitter.com/NkhIzaQwzI

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) June 19, 2021

All passengers from India will be 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 will have to remain in institutional quarantine until they receive their PCR test result, which is expected within 24 hours. UAE citizens and diplomats are exempt from institutional quarantine.

In the wake of the announcement by the Supreme Committee, Dubai carrier Emirates confirmed on its website that it would announce flight schedules and travel requirements for customers as soon as details are available.

Meanwhile, Dubai’s health authority confirmed that Covishield, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine produced in India, is accepted for UAE residents looking to travel to Dubai. The list of approved vaccines in the UAE include Sinopharm, Pfizer-​BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca and Sputnik V.

Read: Dubai’s DHA clarifies list of approved vaccines for UAE residents travelling from India