The boss of Emirates airline’s UK operation said he is frustrated that the UAE remains on the British government’s red list for travel.
Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president at Emirates, said he had presented data to the UK government showing high vaccination rates and low levels of infection in the UAE but, as yet, to no avail.
The UAE has been on the UK’s red list for travel since the traffic light system was introduced in late January, with travellers required to pay to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.
In a major development for travel to the UK, ministers are currently considering dropping quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated British expatriates, but this would benefit only those who live in amber countries.
The UK will drop quarantine requirements for double-vaccinated visitors from the EU and the US from next month.
The traffic light system has caused a collapse in passenger numbers and separated scores of expats from their families in the UK.
Emirates used to operate about 20 flights a day between the UK and the UAE.
This is compared with next week’s schedule, with just two Emirates flights a day between the two countries, according to Skyscanner.
UK travel: Green, amber and red list countries
Mr Jewsbury said the decision to keep the UAE on the red list was frustrating given favourable Covid data, particularly the vaccination rate, with 69 per cent of the UAE population fully inoculated against the virus.
“It’s just a case of waiting for the UK authorities to shuffle the deck on the red, amber and green categories,” he told the Press Association.
“The next change should be during the first half of August and we would hope to see some movement reflective of the state of play in the UAE and all the health and safety measures that have been put in place across the passenger journey.”
He said the UK appeared to be taking a more cautious approach compared with other European countries, such as Germany, which lists the UAE as…