The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted restrictions on 12 African countries noting that flight arrivals can resume from countries like Botswana, Congo Republic, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Namibia.

Restriction on flights arriving from Nigeria and 11 other African nations will be lifted on Saturday, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities have said.

The country’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) said it was lifting the ban initially imposed as part of measures to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The authorities said flight arrivals can resume from countries like Botswana, Congo Republic, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, and Namibia.

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Others are Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the authorities said in a post on Twitter Wednesday.

The UAE had last December issued a travel restriction on passenger flights from Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia.

NCEMA and the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) said the directive, which took effect December 25, was due to concerns related to the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant.

“The excluded categories should present a negative COVID-19 test obtained within 48 hours of departure and a Rapid-PCR test at the airport within six hours of departure whenever possible and another PCR test at the airport upon arrival to UAE,” the statement had said.

On Wednesday, NCEMA also announced that entry procedures have been updated for flights originating from Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda.

Passengers are required to take a PCR test 48 hours before departure, test where possible at the departure airport, test on arrival and adhere to all precautionary measures when visiting the UAE.

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The new rules come into effect by 2.30pm on Saturday, NCEMA said.

The Nigerian government and the UAE authorities have been at loggerheads in recent months.

The crisis came against the backdrop of Emirates’ suspension of its flight to Nigeria indefinitely in response to a restriction by the Nigerian government limiting its flights to the country to just once a week.

Aviation authorities in the United Arab Emirates later gave slots to Nigerian airline, Air Peace, backing off from an earlier confrontation that threatened relations between both countries. The authority also permitted it to fly directly to Dubai instead of Sharjah Airport it had earlier suggested.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry