Dubai: UK is finalising arrangements with UAE to allow quarantine-free travel from October 4, said James Cleverly, minister for Middle East and North Africa in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
“We are finalising arrangements with UAE to include their nationals and residents in our plans to open up to the fully vaccinated from other countries from 4 October,” said Cleverly in a tweet.
“Delighted that international travel is opening up,” he added.
His remarks came after England announced that it would abandon COVID-19 testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers and scrap its traffic light system.
UK also added eight countries to its safe list, including Turkey, Pakistan and Maldives.
Positive news
“Any removal of barriers to travel whether psychologically , practical or cost wise are positive and given the importance of the UAE-UK market, this is positive news for helping to restore traffic,” said John Strickland, Director of JLS Consulting.
UK added UAE to its ‘amber list’ in August after months spent in the ‘red’. This means passengers fully vaccinated against COVID-19 (under a UK, US or EU vaccination programme) no longer have to quarantine on arrival in Britain.
The UAE was placed on UK’s red-list in January amid a spike in COVID-19 cases at the time. Since then, the UAE has managed to contain the spread and reconnected with more countries when it comes to travel.
