The UAE will remain on Britain’s travel red list for the foreseeable future, the UK government announced on Friday, in a fresh blow for the tourism industry.
Only 15 countries were added to the UK’s list for quarantine-free travel from May 17, including Israel, Portugal, Iceland, Australia and Singapore.
The announcement means arrivals from the UAE – along with all countries on the red list – are required to travel straight to a government-mandated hotel for 10 days at a cost of £1,750 per adult.
“The list once again highlights the lack of understanding not just from the UK but other governments as the airline industry tries to recover,” said John Grant, partner at UK-based consultancy Midas Aviation.
“The UK green list includes countries that have announced that they will be locked down to international visitors for another six months, such as Australia, and some countries like Singapore, where infection rates are creeping up again and planned bubbles have been cancelled once again,” Grant said.
The expert said this is “frustrating news” for the UAE, as the country has now languished on the red list since Jan 29 this year.
“This news only highlights the need for bi-lateral joined-up government decision making,” said Grant. “These unilateral political sound bites do the airline industry no good at all.”
Grant Shapps, the UK Transport Secretary, said the limited list represented a “cautious” resumption of international travel.
Popular European destinations such as Greece, France, Spain and Italy are on an amber list requiring any travellers to quarantine for ten days on their return and take two PCR tests.
Other countries on the green list include: Gibraltar, Brunei, Faroe Islands, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, St Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan de Cunha and New Zealand
“Our decisions on categorising countries are informed by the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which produces risk assessments of the spread of variants of concern internationally,” a Department for Transport spokesman told Arabian Business in a email.
UAE travel hub concerns?
According to Tobias Rueckerl, president and CEO, Advanced Aviation Consulting Limited, the UAE’s status as an “international travel hub” has raised concerns for the UK government.
“Even as the UAE’s domestic Covid cases fall, the UK stills deems the Emirate’s global transit passengers as a major source for infections,” said Rueckerl. “The UAE is being penalised for its strategy and business model of becoming the major hub between Asia and Europe.”
The expert said the UK’s latest ruling would “substantially” dampen travel between Britain and UAE.
Scotland on April 9 lifted its ban on direct flights from the UAE but flights to England, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to be prohibited.
The impact of the UK Government’s decision to restrict air travel to and from the UAE has seen the popular Dubai-Heathrow route lose its position as the world’s busiest internationally.
A full recovery of the Dubai-London Heathrow air route, which saw a whopping 190,365 seats booked during the first week of January 2020, could take up to three years, according to Grant.
“I don’t see a return to 2019 levels until 2024 at the very earliest,” the Midas Aviation partner said.
Middle Eastern airlines saw passenger demand plunge by 73 percent in 2020 due to pandemic travel restrictions, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The region’s airlines posted losses of $7.1 billion in 2020, said the airline body.
Globally, the airline industry is forecast to post a net loss of $118.5 billion in 2020, with demand falling 66.3 percent from year-ago levels, said IATA.
Explained: The UK travel ‘traffic light’ list
Green: Arrivals need to take a pre-departure test as well as a PCR test on or before day two of their arrival back into the UK – but will not need to quarantine on return (unless they receive a positive result) or take any additional tests
Amber: Arrivals will need to quarantine for a period of 10 days and take a pre-departure test, as well as a PCR test on day two and day eight. There will be the option to take an additional test on day five to end self-isolation early
Red: Arrivals will be subject to restrictions currently in place for red list countries, which include a 10-day stay in a managed quarantine hotel at a cost of £1,750 per adult, pre-departure testing and mandatory PCR testing on day two and eight.
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