Travellers in Abu Dhabi looking to escape to the Greek islands this summer now have a low-cost option to fly direct to Santorini.
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the newest airline in the UAE, is launching two flights per week from the UAE capital to one of Greece's holiday hot spots.
Vaccinated travellers from the UAE can jet off to Santorini with no quarantine on either end of the trip, as the UAE and Greece have established a vaccine corridor.
From July 2, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will fly twice a week from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Santorini, with a travel time of less than five hours.
Flights depart the UAE capital on Mondays and Fridays, and the budget airline is selling tickets one way from Dh399, including taxes, but excluding check-in baggage or carry-on trolleys, which can be added for a fee.
"With its iconic whitewashed villages and charming blue domed roofs, it's no surprise that Santorini is an ever-popular destination for travellers the world over. And now, with the UAE and Greece having agreed to a travel corridor, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi is delivering safe, efficient, hassle-free and ultra-low-fare travel options for UAE residents looking for a Hellenistic holiday," said Kees van Schaick, managing director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.
The new launch is Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's third destination in Greece, but its first route to the Greek islands. The budget airline already operates two other flights per week to the country from the UAE, flying to Athens and Thessaloniki.
Low-cost airline flydubai also announced this week that it would begin flying direct to Santorini from Dubai.
Travellers flying to Greece must fill in a Passenger Locator Form at least 24 hours before entering the country. Tourists can either show proof of vaccination or the results of a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arriving. The second dose of the vaccination must have been issued at least 14 days before landing in Santorini. Children under the age of 5 do not need to be tested.
Passengers flying back to the UAE need to have a PCR test no more than 72 hours before flying.
All returning travellers must also take another PCR test on arrival, and then follow the most up-to-date testing requirements for the emirate. Children 12 years of age and younger are exempt from testing.
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Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
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School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
