EK stops accepting travelers from 8 more African Nations
Emirates has added eight more African countries to its travel ban list. The UAE-based carrier will no longer accept travelers originating from Angola, Guinea, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Ethiopia. Outbound passenger flights to the aforementioned destinations will not be affected.
The flight ban will come into immediate effect from December 28th. The airline also clarified that customers originating from Conakry (CKY) to Dakar (DSS) will not be accepted for travel. All outbound flights from Dubai to these destinations are not affected.
The move by Emirates adds to its list of banned African countries, which also includes Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe.
Emirates previously offered exemptions for certain travelers from African nations. This included UAE nationals (and their 1st-degree relatives and domestic helpers) plus UAE Golden Visa holders, provided they self-quarantine and return a negative PCR test upon arrival.
Emirates has advised passengers booked on the above services that they do not need to contact the airline to reschedule their booking. Instead, customers can keep hold of their booking and get in touch with their booking office or travel agent as soon as flights are resumed.
The airline also advises travelers to visit Emirates’ ‘Manage Your Booking’ portal and keep their details up to date to receive the latest updates on their booking.
Africa, the world’s least-vaccinated continent, is currently going through a new wave of COVID infections as case numbers soar across the continent. According to the African C.D.C, 21 African nations are experiencing a fourth wave of COVID cases as the highly-transmissible Omicron variant spreads.
For example, Kenya has seen a sharp jump from 1% positive cases to 30% in just three weeks. However, South Africa, which went through the world’s earliest Omicron outbreak, has seen a 35% drop in COVID cases.
Encouraging evidence suggests prior Omicron infection can protect against re-infection from the Delta variant, leading some experts to predict that Omicron will eventually displace Delta worldwide. An earlier study from South Africa indicated that Omicron is around 80% less likely to cause hospitalization than the Delta variant.
What do you think of Emirates’ decision to add more African countries to its flight ban list? Has your journey with Emirates been affected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
