Quarantine must for UAE travellers to UK

UAE airlines have also updated regulations for travellers to and from the UK

Travel plans of British expatriates are in flux as the UAE has been removed from the UK list of travel corridors amid a spike in Covid-19 cases. Anyone who arrives from the UAE after 8am on Tuesday needs to selfisolate for 10 days, according to the British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

All passengers who have travelled to Scotland from Dubai since January 3 have also been asked to isolate. Furthermore, the recent strict lockdown restrictions imposed across the UK mean leisure travel is currently banned.

Until the change in regulations, travellers from the UAE were able to avoid quarantine upon arriving in the UK.

The UAE had become a hot favourite for influencers and celebrities from the UK wishing to escape the lockdowns in the UK.

Major UAE airlines have also tweaked its travel regulations for travellers to and from the UK.

Emirates Airlines has made it mandatory for all passengers arriving from the UK to carry a negative RT-PCR test after 8am on January 16 no more than 96 hours before departure. Until January 16, all passengers from the UK are also subject to PCR tests upon arrival.

“The certificate must be for a polymerase chain reaction ( PCR) test. Other test certificates including antibody tests and home testing kits are not accepted in Dubai,” said the airline.

UAE’s flag carrier Etihad has also updated its regulations for UK travellers. “If you’re travelling to and from the UK, you must have a Covid-19 PCR test 72 hours before your flight.”