Following news that the Seychelles will be reopening its borders to all international visitors on March 25, with no quarantine requirements, Air Seychelles has launched direct weekly flights between Dubai and the Indian Ocean nation.
Running from March 27 to May 29, the seasonal service will operate from the Jetex private terminal at Dubai World Central (DWC), departing from Dubai at 8am every Saturday morning and arriving in the Seychelles at 12.30pm.
The return flight will depart from the Seychelles at 2.45pm on Friday afternoon, providing travellers with a seven-day, six-night stay in the country.
All travellers, regardless of their vaccination status, must present a negative PCR test upon arrival in the Seychelles, taken a maximum of 72 hours prior. They will then need to adhere to public health measures currently in place in the country, which include the wearing of face masks and social distancing in public.
The only visitors who cannot enter the Seychelles under its latest rules are those travelling from South Africa.
Flights to and from Dubai will be operated on an Airbus A320neo aircraft, which has 12 business class and 156 economy class seats. Economy tickets start from $343, with a baggage allowance of 30 kilograms, while business class seats are available from $1,020 with a baggage allowance of 40kg. All fares are inclusive of taxes.
Tickets are on sale now on the Air Seychelles website and via travel agents.
The Seychelles is accelerating its vaccination efforts to ensure that 70,000 residents will have received their doses by Thursday, March 25. At present, 56,000 people have received at least a first dose of either the Sinopharm or Covishield vaccine.
“The vaccination campaign has been quite successful," said Sylvestre Radegonde, the country’s minister for foreign affairs and tourism.
"The government has done everything in its power to make sure that the population is protected. We have now arrived at the point where opening our borders further is the next step to allow for our economic recovery.”
How Dubai airport's new facial-recognition smart gates work
-
A new travel pass app that can be used to show if a person is vaccinated or has had a recent PCR test will be trialled in Dubai. It follows the recent introduction of a contactless system deployed at 122 smart gates, pictured. Courtesy: GDFRA -
A passenger lines up for an iris scan. He is not required to hand over his physical passport at 122 gates within the airport -
The fast-track biometric passenger journey service uses face and iris-recognition technologies -
Maj Gen Mohammed Al Marri, director general of the GDRFA immigration service, speaks to media during a tour of Dubai International Airport in March -
Eight Emirates Airline check-in desks have been fitted with biometric cameras -
The smart gates enable passengers to complete passport control procedures between five to nine seconds -
The upgrade will make the movement through smart gates smoother and faster -
Passengers passing though the smart gates must lower their masks, glasses and hats then look at the camera and keep as still as possible. -
154,000 travellers have used Dubai International Airport’s new biometric system, which eliminates the need to use identification documents -
Passengers registered under the new system no longer need to show their passport or boarding pass, from checking in to boarding the plane.
