United Arab Emirates (UAE) has suspended flights from Uganda to Dubai until further notice. Flights from Entebbe were also suspended in June due to the surge of COVID-19 cases and many passengers testing positive for the virus on arrival in Dubai.

According to a tweet from Uganda Civil Authority- UCAA, “passengers planning to travel to Dubai are now advised to contact their respective airlines for guidance on any changes in the restrictions.” However, “incoming Emirates flights from Dubai are still operational,” UCAA states.

The move has thereby thrown business people and Uganda’s over 200 labour ‘externalization’ companies in crisis as most of their clients who take in Ugandan workers are in the Middle East to which Dubai airport in the UAE is the key gateway.

Dubai is one of the top four routes from Entebbe International Airport, with an average of 17 flights a week. These flights are operated by Uganda Airlines, Emirates, Fly Dubai, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines.

Health sources at Entebbe Airport say they are not surprised that Uganda has been added to the red list. ” The number of COVID-19 cases are rising in Uganda and also passengers who have tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in Dubai have been increasing,” said a source.

Another source said that while UAE required passengers from Uganda to have two COVID-19 tests done prior to their departure flight, some of them were forging the test results.urn