United Arab Emirates finally lifts SA travel ban

South Africans can now travel to popular destinations like Dubai, after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) lifted travel restrictions it imposed on several African countries last year.

Flights from South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been allowed to resume entry into the UAE.

Travel from Uganda, Rwanda and Ghana will only resume on Friday, the UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) announced on Tuesday.

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South Africa was one of the countries that bore the brunt of travel bans over the Covid-19 pandemic after Eastern, Western and European countries closed themselves off for South African travel.

The UAE ban dealt a blow to travellers who found themselves cut off from key connecting hub Dubai.

Last year, government slammed the travel bans that were largely introduced due to the discovery of Covid-19 variant Omicron by local scientists.

The countries were accused of knee-jerk reaction to Covid-19 developments, and for punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing, that enables scientists to detect new variants quicker.

According to Gulf News, a negative Covid-19 test certificate conducted at an approved facility two days before arrival is required upon arrival in the UAE.

The test results should also contain a QR code.

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