United Arab Emirates has barred transit flights to Dubai, as it only allow passengers to fly on direct flights to Dubai. This means that passengers originating from Nigeria to Dubai via any transit point will not be allowed to enter Dubai.
This was disclosed by Rwandair via its Twitter handle on Sunday.
Rwandair also suspended lifting passengers originating from Nigeria to Dubai from January 31, 2021 till further notice.
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The airline explained that it will continue to operate Kigali – Dubai flights 4x a week but will not lift passengers from Nigeria to Dubai.
It stated, “Effective February 1, 2021, the United Arab Emirates will only allow passengers travelling from Nigeria to fly on direct flights to Dubai. Passengers originating from Nigeria to Dubai via any transit point will not be allowed to enter Dubai.
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“As a result, Rwandair will not lift passengers from Nigeria to Dubai from January 31, 2021 untill further notice. Affected passengers will be offered the option to rebook and fly at a later date at no additional cost or request for a refund.”
What it means
- The development could lead to an astronomical rise in airfares from Lagos or Abuja to Dubai as other carriers like Egypt Air in a memo to its trade partners said: “Sequence to the memo we received from Dubai Airport Authority asking all Nigeria travellers coming to Dubai to fly directly effective February 1, 2021.
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Travel update for passengers travelling from Nigeria to Dubai. pic.twitter.com/SIxIGcqrNy
— RwandAir (@FlyRwandAir) January 31, 2021