Dubai eases air travel controls as its economy opens up

The UAE emirate of Dubai has announced an easing of Covid-19-related air travel restrictions that will allow citizens, residents, visitors and tourists to travel in and out of its airports freely after a three-month hiatus.

The new guidelines mean Dubai residents who got stuck overseas when the UAE abruptly suspended all passenger flights to and from the country in late March will be able to return home from today.

UAE citizens and Dubai residents will also be allowed to travel overseas, without exception, from tomorrow, on the condition that they comply with the guidelines and protocols set by the countries they are travelling to. On their return to Dubai, they will have to undergo Covid-19 screening tests at the airport.

Dubai authorities have also said that the emirate will begin welcoming visitors and tourists from 7 July. To enter the UAE, they will be required to present a certificate showing they having recently tested negative for Covid-19, or undergo testing at the airport.

The new guidelines follow a lifting of the UAE's ban on transit flights earlier this month, which paved the way for a number of the UAE's national airlines to gradually increase the number of routes they operate.

Dubai's national carrier, Emirates airlines, has increased the number of destinations it services to 40 cities, including connections through Dubai. Abu Dhabi's national airline, Etihad airways, plans to increase its destinations on 16 July, from 29 currently.

The easing of air travel restrictions will boost jet fuel demand in the region and should, in turn, lift the Mideast Gulf jet fuel differential.

The new measures follow a gradual reopening of Dubai and its economy late last month amid a fall in Covid-19 cases. Daily cases have averaged 375 in the past week, compared with 725 in the final week of May.

But while Dubai — the UAE's largest jet fuel consumer — has been inching back to normality, authorities in Abu Dhabi are more cautious in their plans to reopen the economy. The emirate remains under a partial lockdown, which has banned residents from entering and exiting since the beginning of this month. The ban was extended for a third time overnight in an effort to enhance the effectiveness of a nationwide Covid-19 screening programme. It will now hold until 29 June.

By Sarah Raffoul