Covid-19: Flights from India to the UAE to be suspended for 10 days

Flights from India to the UAE will be suspended for 10 days starting Saturday, April 24,  Dubai airline Emirates confirmed on Thursday.

The move comes even as India is struggling to contain a massive surge in the number of Covid-19 cases across the country.

“Effective April 24 and for the next 10 days, Emirates flights from India to the UAE will be suspended. Furthermore, passengers who have transited through India in the last 14 days will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the UAE,” the airline said in an update on its website. 

 “Affected customers should contact their travel agent or Emirates contact centre for rebooking options. Emirates regrets any inconvenience caused,” it added.  

The decision will reportedly be reviewed after 10 days.

India has seen a surge in Covid-19 cases in the past few days, with 15.93 million confirmed cases as of Thursday morning. The 314,835 new cases Thursday were more than the previous one-day gain of 314,312 cases reported by the US in December. The official death toll rose to 184,657.

Several countries have already announced a ban on flights from India to curb the spread of the virus.

On Wednesday, Oman announced an indefinite ban the entry of travellers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh starting from 6pm on Saturday, April 24.

The ban extends to travellers who have been in or visited those countries in the 14 days preceding their arrival in the sultanate.

Read: Covid-19: Oman to indefinitely ban travellers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Meanwhile Singapore also said on Thursday that it will further tighten border controls with India, including a ban on visitors from the country, because of a “rapidly deteriorating situation” there.

With inputs from Bloomberg