Emirates Airlines, United Arab Emirates and Middle East largest airline has suspended passengers flight to and from Nigeria effect from today June 21,2021 until further notice.
Recalled that the airline had two days ago announced that it would restart flight operations into Nigeria from on Wednesday, June 23, 2021.
This was made known on the airline’s website;emirates.com
The airline in its website said that passengers travelling to and from Lagos- Abuja will not be accepted to travel and those who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days will not be permitted to board from other point to UAE.
“In line with government directives, passengers flights to and from Nigeria (Lagos and Abuja) are suspended with immediate effect from 21 June, 2021 until further notice.
“Customers travelling to and from Lagos and Abuja will not be accepted to travel. Customers who have been to or connected through Nigeria in the last 14 days are not permitted to board from any other point to the UAE.
“We regret the inconveniences caused, and affected customers should contact their booking agents or Emirates call centres for re-booking. Emirates remains committed to Nigeria, and we look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow,” emirates.com reads.
Before the latest development, UAE had barred passengers without a pre-boarding Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RTD’s) also said brought out a new travel protocol saying that it will fly Nigerian passengers that present negative PCR test results taken within 48 hours before departure.
The airline’s website also said that daily passenger flights to Johannesburg, South Africa will operate as EK763, but outbound passenger flights on EK 764 remain suspended.
It added that passengers, who have been to or connected through South Africa in the last 14 days will not be permitted on any Emirates flights bound for Dubai.
On February 1, 2021, the UAE airlines asked Nigerian passengers using the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja to conduct rapid COVID-19 tests before departure.
A situation that infuriated the Federal Government , which also resulted to the banning of Emirates flights into Nigeria but the ban was short lived as it was lifted after the UAE authorities relax the stringent COVID-19 protocols Nigerian passengers were made to go through.
As if that was not enough, on March 25, 2021, the UAE Embassy in Abuja reeled out new COVID-19 travel protocols for Nigeria passengers.
According to the Embassy , as part of efforts to prevent the ravaging deadly virus from spreading .
