UAE's travellers willing to travel abroad during their summer holidays can now choose from more than 30 cities in 19 countries across the Emirates vast network that have opened for tourism and business. This development has come after Spain's decision to allow fully vaccinated international visitors into the country from June 7.

Starting July, Emirates will be operating more than 280 weekly flights from Dubai to several cities across various regions, including the US, Middle East, Europe, Africa, and other popular island getaways. This decision has come as a sigh of relief for travellers who have been waiting to enjoy their holidays and experience the summer without much worry about the cost or stress of quarantine requirements.

Spain is the latest European country to open its borders for international tourists. With effect from Monday, Spain will allow the entry of fully vaccinated people who received their second dose at least 14 days before the date of travel. Travellers are required to present a physical vaccination certificate upon arrival. It is important that the vaccine that they received is authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) or included in WHO's Emergency Use Listing, including Sinopharm, Pfizer BioNTech, and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.

Furthermore, they must present a COVID-19 PCR test taken 48 hours before arriving in the European country. Unvaccinated children under the age of six are permitted to enter the country with their vaccinated parents. However, children above the age of six are required to present a negative PCR test.

Furthermore, international passengers must complete the online Health Control Form (FCS) prior to their arrival in Spain. For further information related to the entry requirements for Spain, passengers can visit: https://www.emirates.com/ae/english/help/covid-19/travel-requirements-by-destination/#81338

As of now, Emirates is operating 5 weekly flights to Madrid and 4 weekly flights to Barcelona, with the provision of additional flights in case of an increase in demand.

Notably, countries across the world are taking much-needed steps to reopen their borders for travel and tourism to and from the UAE. This is a reflection of the successful vaccination programme and efficient precautionary protocols implemented by the authorities to ensure safe travel for passengers.

In this regard, Emirates has expressed keenness in ramping up its operations in line with the rising demand with the aim of reviving tourism across its network. As more travel corridors open, travellers can benefit from quarantine-free travel at both ends of their journey.

Currently, Emirates’ customers can enjoy quarantine-free travel to Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Italy, Turkey, Spain, and France (from 9 June), with more countries adding the list in the coming time.

Moreover, customers can reconnect with their friends with the expanded Emirates flights schedules in Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Egypt. Travellers wishing to enjoy a beach escape can head to the Maldives, Phuket and Seychelles through Emirates convenient flight schedules.

In Africa, Emirates is operating regular flights to Morocco, Kenya and Tanzania so that travellers can explore the diverse experiences and spectacular cities across the region.

The United States has also become a popular destination for tourists after its rapid vaccination roll-out. Currently, Emirates is operating flights to 11 destinations in the US. It is going to add Miami as the 12th gateway in the country from July 21. In addition, this summer, the airline will be deploying its flagship and customer favourite, the A380 aircraft, to a number of US destinations including Los Angeles and New York to enhance passengers’ experience.

The airline will be operating services from Mexico City from July 2 as borders start to open up for tourists and business travellers.

Emirates will continue to work towards strengthening its partnership with flydubai, enhancing its joint network and offering flights to 48 cities across 33 countries with quarantine-free facilities. Essentially, Emirates is providing more benefits and hassle-free travel than any other airline in the region.

At the same time, the airline with accelerating its IATA Travel Pass capabilities on flights to Barcelona, Moscow, Istanbul, New York JFK, Madrid as well as from London Heathrow as it plans to increase the frequency of its flights from July. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Emirates is working on providing ease of travel to customers from Dubai with paperless verification of COVID-19 related medical records through its partnership with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA).

WAM