The UAE will lift its travel ban on South Africa on 29 January 2022.
The UAE was one of at least 70 countries to reimpose restrictions on travellers coming from South Africa and its neighbouring countries at the end of November. This followed the detection of the Omicron coronavirus variant, by scientists of South Africa’s Network for Genomic Surveillance, which resulted in widespread travel bans.
While several countries globally have already lifted travel bans and restrictions, travel to and from the Middle East remained a challenge, with airline suspensions and entry restrictions lasting much longer.
Emirates has yet to confirm its return date. The airline’s last update was published on 6 January, confirming that passenger flights from Dubai to Johannesburg would operate, but that it would not be flying passengers out of South Africa. Details on testing and possible quarantine requirements are expected to be released by the NCEMA before Saturday.
