Inayat-ur-Rahman

Emirates airline welcomes the latest air travel protocols that will facilitate international travel for UAE citizens, residents and tourists, and open Dubai to business and leisure visitors from 7 July, while putting in place careful measures to ensure the health and safety of travellers and communities.

These protocols for travel into and out of Dubai airports were announced under the directives of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the follow-up of Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council,  Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management headed by Sheikh Mansour Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive said: “I would like to thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed for their latest directives to reopen air travel which show their vision for Dubai as a world leader in business and tourism. This is a strong affirmation of Dubai’s readiness to resume aviation and economic activity after comprehensive planning, review, and preparation. We are confident that the multi-layered measures that have been put in place in the air, on the ground, and throughout our city, enables us to mitigate risks of infection spread and manage any required response effectively. We believe that cities around the world are conducting ongoing reviews and will soon follow suit to update their border entry requirements for international travellers.

“In the past weeks, Emirates has gradually expanded our network by offering services to a number of destinations, providing the means for customers to travel through Dubai while serving the global demand for air freight movement. We continue to work closely with all stakeholders and international organisations to ensure the highest levels of health and safety for our crew, our customers and our communities. Currently, Emirates connects Dubai to 40 cities, and with the latest directives, we have the opportunity to expand our network and offer additional destinations which will be communicated in the coming days. We look forward to serving and welcoming our customers, and to connecting many cities again through our hub in Dubai.

“The next few weeks will be a big test for the whole aviation industry in many ways. At Emirates we see a positive trend of traffic building up across our network over the past weeks, and we are ready to serve our customers.”

Emirates has also  launched an ad to tell the world that Dubai is open and ready to welcome international travellers, watch it here.

Health and safety first: Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes to all customers. For more information on these measures and the services available on each flight, visit: www.emirates.com/yoursafety

Travel restrictions: Customers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place, and travellers will only be accepted on flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements of their destination countries. Visit: www.emirates.com/wherewefly.Visitors to Dubai should hold an international health insurance policy covering illness from Covid-19 for the duration of their stay.

Meanwhile,  the UAE national airline, Etihad Airways, is partnering with Austrian-based healthcare technology company Medicus AI to launch a COVID-19 risk-assessment tool that will empower guests to make informed decisions about travelling.

Powered by Medicus AI’s technology, the risk-assessment tool will guide Etihad’s guests in evaluating the probability of having contracted the COVID-19 by responding to a set of 22 questions, the airline said in a statement on Monday.

The self-administered assessment, which takes less than five minutes to complete, is based on World Health Organisation, WHO, guidelines that are updated daily.

With this risk-assessment tool, guests will understand their individual probability of having contracted the virus alongside advisories and recommendations, allowing them to make informed decisions about travelling.

Frank Meyer, Chief Digital Officer of Etihad Airways, said, “We know that health and wellbeing will be a major factor impacting the travel decisions of our guests and are committed to ensuring their continued safety and peace of mind when they choose to travel with Etihad Airways. As flying operations begin to resume globally, we want to empower our guests to make informed decisions on travel.

“Partnering with Medicus AI on this innovative new tool is just one of the ways we are adapting our operations and guest experience to meet the new demands placed on the travel industry as a result of COVID-19,” he added.

In turn, Dr. Baher Al Hakim, CEO of Medicus AI, commented, “We are proud to support Etihad Airways in their efforts to ensure the safety of its passengers and crew as the world returns to normalcy. Our initial efforts at the start of the pandemic were to help provide assessment and monitoring tools, and as needs shift, our efforts have evolved to help our partners bring people back to their day-to-day life in a safe manner.”