Breaking: UAE Bans Nigerian Passengers, 3 Other African Countries Over Omicron
- UAE has suspended all inbound flights from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia over COVID-19 concerns
- The decision also bars travellers who were in the four countries 14 days prior to their arrival in the UAE
- Meanwhile, the travel ban excludes the UAE nationals, members of diplomatic missions and golden residence holders
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has again suspended travellers from Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia from entering the country.
The Nation reports that its National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Emergency Management Authority (NCEMA) and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) announced the decision on Friday, December 24.
This development takes effect on Saturday, December 25.
Source: Getty Images
The impact of the ban
The development has created chaos for both inbound and outbound passengers, including Nigerians wishing to come home for the Yuletide.
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Some have arranged last-minute flight changes to other European, African and US carriers.
The new travel rule
The new travel rule implies that Nigerians can not use the other available Abu Dhabi-based airline, Etihad, which had seen an unprecedented rise in passenger traffic as an alternative to Emirates.
Emirates stopped flight services to Nigeria because of the recently resolved spat between Nigeria-UAE.
Omicron: Canada rejects COVID test results from 10 African nations
In a previous report by Legit.ng, nationals from 10 African countries, including Nigeria, will henceforth go through some hurdles and a series of tests in order to be permitted entry into Canada due to the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant which some have associated with the continent.
The European nation, however, stated in its recent travel advisory that its citizens, permanent residents, and people with status under the Indian Act who have been in the affected countries are allowed entry into Canada.
The Canadian government made it clear that such persons would be required to obtain proof of a valid negative COVID test from a third country, meaning they must present proof of in-transit PCR test results for entry into Canada.
List of 70 countries UAE approves for visa-on-arrival
In other news, the United Arab Emirates has approved visa-on-arrival for passport holders from at least 70 countries across the world.
Legit.ng notes that the list of the eligible countries for the visa-on-arrival policy is available on the official website of Etihad Airlines.
A statement on the airline's website stated that anyone from the listed countries does not need to apply for a visa before travelling to the UAE. Nigeria, Africa's most populous country and the continent's biggest economy, is absent on the list.
Source: Legit.ng
