EMIRATES & Etihad: suspend flights in & out of the UK

The Australian High Commission in the United Kingdom is reporting that Emirates has suspended all outbound flights from the United Kingdom as a result of the government ban on direct flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The UAE has been placed on the UK ‘red’ or banned list, which means travellers from those countries can no longer enter the United Kingdom (UK) unless they are British or Irish nationals or residents. The UK authorities are concerned about the presence of more transmissible COVID variants that are present in the UAE

This has also affected Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi. They have suspended all flights from 1pm (GMT) on 29 January, to the UK.

The Emirates flight suspension is set to start at 1pm 29 January UK time, with no resumption date as yet. This is the 2nd time Emirates has suspended flights that affects Australians trying to return from the UK and Europe. On January 15, Emirates suspended flights between Dubai and Australian ports due to a reduction in the arrivals limits applied to Australian states. These were restored within the week.

The last flights out of the UK at the moment, according to Emirates are:

• EK 08 London Heathrow – Dubai
• EK 02 London Heathrow – Dubai
• EK 40 Birmingham – Dubai
• EK 28 Glasgow – Dubai

This could play havoc with Australians on the first leg of their return home from Britain.

The last flights to the UK from Dubai are on 29 January:

• EK 07 Dubai – London Heathrow
• EK 01 Dubai – London Heathrow
• EK 39 Dubai – Birmingham
• EK 27 Dubai – Glasgow

Contact Etihad or Emirates

Affected travellers should contact Emirates (UK +443448002777), or their travel agent. If you are booked with Etihad, then they will keep your ticket open automatically. You need to contact them (UK +44 (0)345 6081225) but not urgently.