EMIRATES BACKTRACKS ON REOPENING OF SOUTH AFRICA-DUBAI ROUTE

After a six-month travel ban imposed on visitors from South Africa, Nigeria and India, Dubai announced that it will be lifting its travel ban on 23 June.

This led to national carrier, Emirates Airlines, announcing that it will be opening its route between South Africa and Dubai again.

But a mere 48 hours later, Emirates announced that the suspension will not be lifted, but would remain in place until at least 6 July.

The same reversal has been applied to flights to and from Nigeria, with Emirates unable to provide a definitive return date. Flights from India are due to resume on 7 July, reports Business Insider.

As part of its notice posted on social media, the airline said that travellers from South Africa would need to be fully vaccinated if they wish to travel to Dubai. The vaccination dose received would have to be approved by the United Arab Emirates, and travellers will also have to submit a negative PCR test result to be allowed access into the country.

The reversal post led to harsh negative comments from social media users, but the airline merely said that it's not up to them to decide when the travel ban will be lifted.

Image credit: South China Morning Post