Due to the surging wider spread of the new omicron variant, the United Arab Emirates has canceled a number of flights from several African countries Uganda inclusive.
On Tuesday, December 28th, 2021, Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) confirmed the news of Emirates’ temporary suspension of flights from Uganda until further notice. However, the authority ensured that the inbound flights from Dubai and Emirates at large are still operational.
The UCAA specifies that other destinations in and outside the UAE aren’t affected. Authority spokesperson Vianney Lugya confirmed in an interview with one of the local Television that “the suspension is related to the spike in cases of Covid-19, with the move likely to have a big implication on the sector’s ability to recover from the pandemic”.
Passengers with plans of traveling to the United Arab Emirates are argued to contact their respective airline for guidance on any changes in the restrictions.
The list of African countries suspended for flights to operate in Dubai is lengthening including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Guinea Conakry, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia.
Entebbe airport Uganda’s international connection operates over 17 flights in a week flying to UAE, and among these flights include; fly Dubai, Emirates, Ethiopian Airline, Uganda Airline, Kenya Airways, etc.
Some other sources indicate that UAE needed passengers from Uganda to have two COVID-19 tests done prior to their departure flight, unfortunately, some travelers would present forged test results.
For this case, the health section at Entebbe Airport says they are not surprised that Uganda has been added to the red list. ” The number of COVID-19 cases is rising in Uganda and also passengers who have tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in Dubai have been increasing,”.
