COVID-19: Emirates Resumes Flights From Nigeria June 23 As UAE Lifts Travel Ban

Emirates Airlines has concluded plans to resume Lagos/Abuja-Dubai routes following the good news that government authorities in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE), on Saturday, relaxed its coronavirus (COVID-19) travel requirements for Nigerians.

With the ban lifted, Emirates announced that it will resume airlifting passengers from Nigeria on June 23, 2021. A message from the Dubai Media Office said passengers from Nigeria are expected to have received a negative result for a PCR test taken within 48 hours before departure.

It added that passengers are also expected to present a negative PCR test certificate with a OR code from laboratories approved by the Nigerian government, while also undergoing the same test upon arrival at the Dubai airport. The two countries had been at loggerheads, and have suspended flights, over travel requirements for travelers as part of measures to contain COVID-19 spread.

The country’s airline Emirates Airline had directed that Nigerian traveler at the Lagos and Abuja airports must conduct rapid COVID-19 tests before departure. This led to a ban on Emirates flights in Nigeria. The ban was lifted after the airline agreed to stop the rapid antigen tests. But the federal government reintroduced the ban on March 15, explaining that Emirates had continued to conduct rapid antigen tests for passengers before departure from Nigeria.

Meanwhile, an Emirates airline spokesperson in Lagos said: Emirates welcomes the latest protocols and measures announced by Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management to allow the safe resumption of passenger travel from South Africa, Nigeria, and India to Dubai and onwards.

“We look forward to facilitating travel from these countries and supporting various travelers’ categories. We will resume carrying passengers from South Africa, Nigeria, and India in accordance with these protocols from 23rd June. We thank the Supreme Committee for their continuous efforts in monitoring the development of the situation and announcing the appropriate guidelines and protocols to protect the community and safeguard travel sector.”

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