In a major relief, thousands of United Arab Emirates (UAE)-bound Non-Resident Indians (NRI) stranded in the country since the lockdown from March will now get an opportunity to fly back to their workplaces and join the families there from Sunday.
The development comes after civil aviation authorities of both countries agreed to operationalise a special arrangement following a face-off between Air India and the Dubai-based Emirates on the high-demand India-UAE route.
This arrangement will be in place for a period of 15 days till July 26. It will be reviewed if required, the Ministry of Civil Aviation said.
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Now, Indian carriers operating repatriation flights and UAE carriers operating charter flights to bring Indian citizens from the UAE can carry residents from India to the UAE provided they get approval from the UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship.
Previously, the UAE administration had objected to Air India’s Vande Bharat flights carrying residents or even UAE nationals from India to the UAE.
The prior approval of the UAE embassy in New Delhi and the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation was also required if anyone wished to fly to the UAE.
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As per the agreement, the four carriers in the UAE — Emirates, flydubai, Etihad, and Air Arabia — will be allowed to operate to their points of call in the pre-lockdown days. Thus Emirates and flydubai will fly to Dubai, Etihad to Abu Dhabi, and Air Arabia to Sharjah from any city in the country.
Dubai already open
Dubai is already open for tourists from July 7. There are no age restrictions on travel. Depending on nationality one can get a visa on arrival or can apply for visit visa from Dubai Immigration before travel. However, the passenger must have travel insurance with COVID-19 cover. One must carry a negative PCR certificate issued within 96 hours before departure.
A PCR test is also available on arrival in Dubai. But these passengers must self-isolate until they receive the test result. If the test result is positive, they will stay in self-isolation. Besides, all travellers to Dubai, including passengers with a connecting flight, must have a health declaration form.