United Arab Emirates, UAE, has stopped all transit flights with Nigerian passengers into Dubai. This means all passengers from Nigeria must fly directly from Nigeria to Dubai without stopping over in another country.
The UAE in a travel advisory tagged, “Dubai Travel Protocol Update-Travel from Nigeria” revealed this on Saturday, January 30, 2021. This is a tactical ban of other foreign Airlines from carrying Nigerian Passengers as only Emirates flies directly to Dubai.
Nigeria Air Peace airline also fly directly to Dubai through Sharjah Airport which is 15 minutes drive from Dubai.
All Nigerians who have visited home in the last 14 days will not be allowed to fly to Dubai through Nairobi-Kenya, Addis Ababa-Ethiopia, Cairo-Egypt, Kigali-Rwanda, amongst other.
#Other European countries are affected by this new policy issued by the UAE geared towards reducing the spread of COVID-19. This policy is expected to greatly affect competition by African and European airlines on the lucrative Dubai route.
The travel advisory also explains that all “departing Nigerians to Dubai are required to obtain a negative COVID-19 certificate and the PCR must be conducted within 72 hours of the date of departure.”
It further adds that “all passengers are required to conduct a rapid COVID-19 test and obtain a negative result within four hours of their departure time.
Passengers must travel directly from Nigeria to Dubai”.
There are reports that some foreign airlines have started reacting. Some said they would refund and also not lift passengers from Nigeria to Dubai from January 31, 2021, until further notice.
“You are hereby advised to check & cancel all your bookings & inform your passengers this new development”, a memo by an airline said.
Vanguard