Emirates, Etihad extend suspension of flights from India

Abu Dhabi: United Arab Emirates (UAE) based carrier Emirates airline has announced to further extend the suspension of its passenger flights from India and three other countries until August 7.

On Wednesday, Emirates extended the suspension of flights from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to UAE due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On July 26, the company notified that the flight services would not be available until July 31.

Emirates also said that passengers who have transited through India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka in the past 14 days will not be allowed to travel from any other destination to the UAE.

“If your flight has been cancelled or impacted by route suspensions due to COVID‑19 restrictions, you don’t need to call us immediately for rebooking. You can simply hold on to your Emirates ticket and when flights resume, get in touch with us or your booking office to make new travel plans,” read a statement by Emirates.

The airline added that UAE nationals, UAE golden visa holders, and members of diplomatic missions who comply with updated COVID-19 protocols are exempt and can be accepted for travel. “Our contact centres are experiencing a greater volume of calls than anticipated. If your call is not related to travel within the next 48 hours, please consider calling back later,” said the Emirates.

Etihad suspends flights from India till further notice

After Emirates, another Middle East airline, Etihad Airways announced the extension of the ban on flights from India until further notice.

On July 26, the company notified that the flight services would not be available until August 2.

The UAE’s general civil aviation authority had earlier clarified that passenger flights between the Gulf state and India would remain suspended until further notice, the Khaleej Times reported.

The Dubai-based airline suspended flights from India since April 24, after the second deadly wave of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The flight ban was initially blamed on an increase in the “delta” variant of the COVID-19 virus. The date for the resumption of travel has been postponed several times.