UAE bans flights from India till Aug: COVID Delta variant blamed; exemption for some

Not so good news for passengers travelling to the United Arab Emirates, as the national airline carrier of UAE, Etihad Airways, on Monday, declared that flights to the UAE from India will remain suspended till August 2.

UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority, in a Notice Issued to Airmen (NOTAM), said flights from India and several other countries will remain suspended until 23:59 hrs of August 2, 2021.

Extention of dates 'likely' 

The date could be extended, depending on directions by the UAE authorities, Khaleej Times, UAE's daily newspaper, reported citing Etihad Airways Guest Relations.

In response to questions from travellers related to bookings from Kerala to Abu Dhabi, the airline said on Twitter, “As per the latest update, our flights from India have been suspended until 2 August. Do keep an eye on our website for future travel information.”

“We've just received confirmation that flights from India are suspended till the 2nd of August, and we are not entirely sure if this will be extended as it depends on the authorities,” said Etihad in a tweet on Monday.

Travel ban blamed on 'Delta variant'

Etihad was previously expecting to resume travel on July 31. On the other hand, as per Emirates’ last update, flights from India to Dubai were all set to restart on July 28. The ban in the flights has been initially blamed on the surge in the ‘Delta’ variant of the COVID virus, while the dates for the resumption of travel have been postponed several times.

According to the General Civil Aviation Authority, passengers who have travelled through India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka in the last 14 days will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the UAE. On the other hand, UAE nationals, holders of UAE Golden Visas, and members of diplomatic missions who comply with updated COVID-19 protocols are exempted from the travel ban. The exemption also applies to participants of 'Expo 2020' Dubai. The GCAA said that Expo 2020 international participants, exhibitors, and personnel sponsored by the world fair’s organiser can enter the UAE.

Last month, the Canadian government also announced that it is extending the ban on incomming passenger flights from India for another month due to the rise in the 'Delta variant of COVID' in India.

Delta variant travels 100 countries

World Health Organisation Chief, Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus had last week warned that the highly contagious Delta variant is ‘dangerous’ and that it continues to evolve and mutate worldwide. He apparently asked world leaders to ramp up their vaccination efforts. Meanwhile, WHO’s regional director for South-East Asia, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, announced that the hypervirulent Delta variant of the novel coronavirus of the B.1.617.2 lineage has spread to over 100 countries. The Delta variant is considered to be the fastest, fittest, and most formidable version of the 'coronavirus' that the world has encountered.