Britain said it was adding the United Arab Emirates, Burundi
and Rwanda to its coronavirus travel ban list because of worries over the
spread of a more contagious and potentially vaccine-resistant COVID-19 variant
first identified in South Africa.
"This means people who have been in or transited
through these countries will be denied entry, except British, Irish and third
country nationals with residence rights who must self-isolate for ten days at
home," U.K. Transport Minister Grant Shapps said on Twitter on Thursday.
On its website, Emirates said it would suspend all U.K.
passenger flights from 1300 GMT, when the ban takes effect. Etihad Airways said
it would only suspend flights to Britain, with those from the U.K. remaining
unaffected.
In a statement, Dubai airport advised those booked on
flights due to arrive in Britain after the ban not to go to the airport and
instead contact their airline.
Britain's transport department advised nationals now in the
UAE to use indirect commercial routes to fly back to Britain.
Border closures caused by COVID-19 made Dubai to London the
world's busiest international route in January, with 190,365 scheduled seats
over the month, airline data provider OAG said.
Emirates and Etihad normally carry large numbers of passengers
connecting from Britain to destinations like Australia through their airport
hubs, meaning the decision to cancel those flights will have far-reaching
implications.
The Australian government said it will add more charter
flights from Britain if needed as a result of the Emirates and Etihad
cancellations.
Eran Ben-Avraham, an Australian stranded in Britain due to
strict limits on the number of arrivals in Australia, said his options for
getting home were continually shrinking.
"At the moment it is only giving us three options of
flying Qatar, ANA or Singapore Airlines," he told the Australian
Broadcasting Corporation. "Every day it is making it more difficult to get
home. The flights back are anywhere from like 4,000 pounds ($5,487)."