By John Ikani
Emirates airline will resume flights to five Africa destinations – Guinea (CKY), Cote d’Ivoire (ABJ), Ghana (ACC), Uganda (EBB) and Angola (LAD) – from today (January 13).
The Dubai airline first suspended flights from these African nations, plus Kenya, Tanzania and Ethiopia, on December 28 as a precaution against the spread of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron.
A statement from the airline says travellers to Dubai must follow new coronavirus guidance.
They include a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours and a six-hour rapid test and PCR on arrival in the UAE for passengers entering from Guinea, Uganda or Ghana.
Travellers from Angola or Ivory Coast must show a negative 72-hour PCR test, and another negative PCR test on arrival.
Those taking the flight that links Guinea to Senegal via Emirates must follow the rules of the final destination.
The rules subjects passengers to present a valid negative Covid-19 PCR test certificate from an approved facility with QR code, with the test validity dating back to when the sample was collected.
Once in Dubai, people must self-quarantine until they receive their on-arrival test result.
UAE citizens and children under the age of 12 are exempt from these rules.
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Emirates had already suspended flights to Nigeria following a recently imposed directive limiting them to one flight per week there. A rift between the airline and the Nigerian government continued into the new year with no signs of resolution in sight.
Similarly the Kenyan Government suspended all inbound and transit passenger flights from the United Arabs Emirates (UAE), for seven days, effective from 10 January.
The authorities say they took that decision to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to the UAE last December following claims of Kenyan passengers testing positive for Covid on arrival in Dubai, despite possessing negative PCR tests from Kenya.
