In Pictures: ‘Amber’ is proving a hit with UAE residents having UK travel plans

Earlier this month that the UK shifted travel from the UAE from red to its amber list. This means passengers fully vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer have to quarantine on arrival in Britain. Getting the UK sector back into action was one of the highest priorities for UAE airlines through the better part of summer. But after much delaying, the UK finally switched the lights – and thus opening up prospects for one of the world’s busiest routes.

Citizens travelling to the UK will have to register through the UK Passenger Locator Form, present a negative PCR test conducted within 72 hours from the travel time and pay for COVID-19 test to be taken after arrival in England. The Passenger Locator Form is a required travel document that all travellers who intend to enter the UK must fill out online before they arrive in the UK.

Arrivals from the UAE need to isolate at home and conduct a PCR test on second and eighth day after arriving in the UK, before leaving the house on day 10. Alternatively, they can isolate at home but do a test on the second day and another on day five for a release from quarantine. Fully-vaccinated citizens inoculated with COVID-19 vaccines from the UK, EU or the US, will no longer need to quarantine. However, they still need a PCR test on the second day of arrival in the UK. Those, who have not been fully vaccinated will be subject to quarantine.

Please note that only vaccines administered in the UK, Europe or US are considered valid in he UK. Travelers taking vaccine outside of the above-mentioned jurisdictions are subject to quarantine.

On August 11, Emirates airline said it would increase its services to 73 weekly flights to the UK by October. This includes a six times a day London Heathrow operation; double-daily A380 flights to Manchester, ten weekly services to Birmingham and daily services to Glasgow, Emirates said.

Currently, a flight from Dubai to London costs at least Dh1,299, while a next week flight from Abu Dhabi is priced from Dh1,239.

The UK follows a ‘traffic light’ system for international travel, with low-risk countries rated green for quarantine-free travel, medium risk countries rated amber, and red-list countries requiring arrivals to spend 10 days in isolation in a hotel. The UK government has said the cost of hotel quarantine for an adult would increase to 2,285 pounds to ensure taxpayers are not paying for the scheme.

Fully-vaccinated travellers from countries on the UK’s amber list still require a pre-departure test and a further PCR test on day two of their trip. Those who are not fully vaccinated must still self-isolated for 10 days on arrival, plus take a pre-departure and two post-departure tests.

The UAE has one of the best vaccination rollout programmes anywhere, which has ensured its airlines – and fliers – have received instant access to most European destinations. Yet, the UK had been the one holdout until now, with the red-listing forcing all fliers from the UAE to go through mandatory quarantine once they arrive in the UK.

Being one of the biggest source of tourists for the UAE, UK’s amber list move holds out prospects for the UAE’s hotels as well. Since the announcement, hotel bookings and the length of stay have increased by 30 per cent. Rinki Tulsani of Rayna Tours and Travels confirmed that demand for hotel bookings are on the rise across all emirates.

Tulsani said that last year the hospitality sector was on a lifeline and survived due to staycation deals meant for UAE residents becoming extremely popular.

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 contained the spread and reconnected with more countries when it comes to travel.

Before being halted by the ban, the London-Dubai route was the busiest air route in the world and several airlines had increased capacity to meet surging demand. Now, with the amber listing, Edward Bell, Senior Director, Market Economics at Emirates NBD Research, said, “We would expect visitors from the UK to rise in line with seasonal trends in the later part of the year, just as Expo is kicking off, now that they don’t face an extended isolation period on their return.”

Britain has one of the fastest vaccination programmes in the world, but the government has so far stopped airlines and travel companies from making plans for a full sector recovery with a maze of rules and last-minute changes. The updated amber list spells out hope that things will change for the better.