Less than 48 hours after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted a travel ban on Nigeria, India and South Africa, the country has once again banned flights to and from Nigeria.
The ban, according to the Emirates, takes official effect from Monday, 21st June 2021 until further notice.
LEADERSHIP recalls that Emirates Airlines had on Saturday announced that it would be resuming flight operations in Nigeria from June 23rd before it came up with another ban yesterday.
Similarly, on February 1st, 2021, the airline had directed that Nigerian travellers at the Lagos and Abuja airports must conduct rapid COVID-19 tests before departure.
Consequently, the Nigerian government also banned Emirates flights into Nigeria.
The ban was however, lifted after the airline agreed to stop the rapid antigen tests.
Later, the federal government reintroduced the ban on March 15, saying the airline rescinded on the agreement.
On March 25, 2021, the UAE Embassy in Abuja announced new COVID-19 travel protocols for Nigeria as measures to curtail the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
It stated that passengers who had been in or transited through South Africa or Nigeria in the last 14 days before travelling to Dubai were barred from entering Dubai.
However, an update from emirates.com yesterday stated that passengers travelling to and from Nigeria will not be accepted to travel.
The airline further stated that passengers who have been to Nigeria in the last 14 days are not to be permitted to board the airline from any point.
It reads, “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.”
