Emirates airline flights from India to UAE suspended until June 30

Ban on passenger flights introduced on April 24 after a surge of Covid-19 cases in the subcontinent

A cargo plane bound for Delhi waits on the tarmac at Helsinki airport in Finland on May 11, 2021 to be loaded with oxygen tanks and ventilators, which Indian hospitals are badly in need of, under an EU aid scheme. AFP

A crew member straps in the cargo of medical oxygen and ventilators on a plane bound for Delhi, India, at Helsinki airport. AFP

Passengers arriving on international flights get their Covid-19 coronavirus screening done at the Anna International airport in Chennai on April 28, 2021. AFP

Liquid oxygen tankers arrive at at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata. They are used to refill portable cylinders that can help patients to breathe. Reuters

An Indian Air Force cargo plane on the tarmac at Dubai World Central. Three empty containers brought from Gujarat were refilled before being sent back to Indian hospitals. Courtesy: Indian Ministry of Defence

Countries across the globe have halted arrivals from India following a dramatic surge in cases in April and May. Reuters

Related: UAE threatens to ban private jet operators for selling seats on per person basis

Emirates airline has extended its suspension on passenger flights from India until June 30.

Also, passengers who have transited through India in the past 14 days will not be accepted to travel from any other point to the UAE.

UAE citizens, holders of UAE Golden Visas and members of diplomatic missions are exempt from the restrictions but must comply with revised Covid-19 protocols.

The suspension will last two months at least and the decision is subject to review.

A number of Indians, however, have managed to enter Dubai on charter flights, despite the ban.

But last week the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority threatened to prohibit private jet operators from pooling charter flights between passengers, although family groups would still be allowed to hire jets.

Flights from India to the UAE were initially stopped on April 24 after a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in the subcontinent and the rise of the new B1617.2 variant.

The speed of coronavirus transmission in the country now seems to be receding, with India on Sunday recording its lowest daily rise in new cases in 46 days.

In the previous 24 hours, 165,553 cases were reported, while deaths rose by 3,460.

More than 27.9 million people in India have now had the virus, and 325,972 have died, according to health ministry data.

Emirates has advised passengers with tickets to India to rebook their flights.

Covid-19 latest in India - in pictures