The two Airlines confirm schedules to London remain unaffected but Abu Dhabi carriers reintroduces PCR test.
India and countries across the Gulf are among around 40 nations to have blocked flights coming from the UK amid fears of a new variant of the coronavirus which was first discovered in Britain.
But UAE flag carriers Emirates and Etihad have confirmed that so far their passenger schedule is uninterrupted. Flights are full and there is no indication that capacity is being reduced on any routes yet.
Saudi Arabia has for one week suspended all international flights in and out of the kingdom. Kuwait, Oman, Jordan, Turkey, Iran and Israel are blocking flights from the UK. So too are Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Air Arabia has stopped flights between Morocco and the UK.
If the UAE was to follow, it would impact many more passengers. Passenger demand for UK-UAE routes has spiked in December, which is one of the busiest times of the year for profitable services between London, Manchester, Glasgow and Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Rather than stop flights though, Etihad Airways has tightened entry requirements. The UAE’s national airline has reintroduced a requirement for all passengers from the UK to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours validity of their flight departure time.
Emirates has been approached for comment on whether it will be introducing its own testing requirements. Currently, passengers from the UK can opt to be tested on arrival in Dubai instead.
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