United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced decision to lift ban it placed on inbound flights from Nigeria and 11 other countries.
The UAE’s National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) made this announcement in a statement posted on its official Twitter handle.
The decision will take effect from January 29 at 2:30pm, adding that a COVID-19 test obtained within 48 hours of departure and a PCR test at the airport in UAE will be required from travellers from the affected African countries.
“From January 29, entry into the UAE for arrivals from Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, the Republic of South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe is allowed again,” the tweet reads.
Recall that NCEMA and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) had on December 25 placed travel restrictions on Nigeria and 11 other countries due to concerns related to the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant.
The other countries affected were Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Republic of Congo, South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
“The excluded categories should present a negative COVID-19 test obtained within 48 hours of departure and a Rapid-PCR test at the airport within six hours of departure whenever possible and another PCR test at the airport upon arrival to UAE,” the UAE agency had said in December.
