Emirates airline, Etihad Airways and flydubai lift mask rules for flights to UAE

People travelling from the Emirates may still need to wear face coverings depending on rules at their destination

Emirates and flydubai updated their Covid-19 protocols on Tuesday following the UAE government's decision to drop mask mandates in most indoor places. Photo: Emirates

Emirates airline, Etihad Airways and flydubai have announced that passengers are no longer required to wear masks on flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The three companies updated their Covid-19 protocols on Tuesday following the UAE government's decision to drop mask mandates in most indoor places.

“Wearing a face mask is optional in the UAE and on Emirates flights,” Emirates said on its website.

“If you are travelling from or transiting through Dubai International, the mask rules of your destination will apply throughout your journey.”

Flydubai said wearing masks was no longer mandatory on its flights to the emirate.

“Effective from September 28 [Wednesday], passengers travelling to Dubai do not need to wear a face mask while on board their flight,” guidance on the airline's website said.

“At the airport, wearing a face mask is optional and not mandatory.”

It said travellers flying out of Dubai would have to follow mask rules in place at the destination they were travelling to.

“The requirement for passengers travelling from or through Dubai to wear a face mask is determined by the rules applicable at the final destination or transit point.”

Abu Dhabi flights

Etihad Airways said on Tuesday that masks on its flights are optional “following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Abu Dhabi”.

For outbound flights, the national airline said masks “will only be required for passengers flying to China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Maldives, Philippines, South Korea, Seychelles” as well as Canada until September 30.

Face coverings will be optional in most indoor public places from Wednesday, the UAE's crisis authority has said.

People will be required to wear masks only in places of worship, hospitals and on public transport.

The decision was announced in a televised briefing on Monday.

The use of masks in indoor public places has been in effect for two and a half years.

Mask mandate lifted in UAE — in pictures

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  A security guard works without a mask in the Times Square Centre after safety measures were lifted last September. Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Masks are no longer required at indoor places such as malls like Times Square Centre in Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  A Covid-19 safety sign is removed from Times Square Centre after face mask rules were removed. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  People have not been required to wear masks in the Emirates for 12 months. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  People shop in the Times Square Centre without masks after rules are lifted in malls. Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

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  Mandatory wearing of face masks was no longer be required in schools in the UAE as of September 28, 2022. Shruti Jain / The National

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  Al Hosn app was introduced to keep track of people's vaccination records and PCR test results during the pandemic. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

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  Until late February 2022, face masks were mandatory outside in the UAE. Khushnum Bhandari/ The National

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  School childre nare no longer required to wear face masks. Shruti Jain/ The National

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  The virtually empty Abu Dhabi-Dubai motorway on the first day of the UAE deep-cleaning campaign in 2020. Victor Besa / The National

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  On March 27, 2020, workers began the UAE cleaning campaign. Victor Besa / The National