Brazilian tourists left stranded in the UAE after restrictions on global air travel were imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19 are set to return home next week.
A repatriation flight for citizens of the South American country will leave from Dubai International Airport on Sunday.
It is the second such flight arranged by UAE authorities in tandem with Emirates Airline and the Brazilian embassy in Abu Dhabi after 125 people were flown home on April 21.
Those wishing to board are required to purchase tickets for what remains a commercial flight.
"There is a commercial flight on May 3 and those who interested to return can book their flights," Fernando Luis Lemos Igreja, Brazil's Ambassador to the UAE, told The National.
“We have been working with the UAE authorities to make these flights possible and to help our citizens who wish to return home.”
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People, wearing protective masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, walk in Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. AFP -
A resident looking at the streets from his home in Al Ras area in Deira Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
People walking on the streets in Al Ras area in Deira Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
People walking on the streets in Al Ras area in Deira Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National -
A seller wears a protective mask in a gold shop at Dubai Gold Market. EPA -
A drone image shows school buses parked in a lot in Dubai, during the coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
A Moroccan artist works on a mural thanking essential workers, in the city of Sale north of the capital. AFP -
An Iraqi Shiite cleric works in the Al Sadiqeen mosque in Baghdad turned into a mask production centre. AFP -
Iraqi Shiite clerics work in the Al Sadiqeen mosque in Baghdad turned into a mask production centre. AFP -
Iraqi men, wearing protective masks to combat the coronavirus, pray inside a destroyed mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. AFP -
A woman wearing a face mask walks past a city-sponsored graffiti mural depicting the historical Haydarpasa Train Station (left) and the famous ferry (right) at a metrobus station in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
A man wearing a protective suit disinfects streets and shops in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
Palestinian Fawzi Al Natsheh checks his handmade electric car named "corona" in the West Bank town of Hebron. Fawzi used to work in Israel but is temporarily out of work as a result of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. He collected iron pipes to make the body and decorated it with wood and painting. AFP -
A Palestinian boy drives the handmade electric car named "corona" his father Fawzi Al Natsheh built in the West Bank town of Hebron. AFP -
Palestinian police officers loyal to Hamas wearing protective masks, sit outside a school used as a quarantine facility in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip. AFP -
Ahmed Khaled Al Kaabi and his bride Ruqaya Rahim celebrate their wedding in Najaf, Iraq. AP Photo -
A man sanitises the room as Syrians who returned from Turkey rest at a quarantine facility in the countryside of the town of Jisr Al Shughur, west of the mostly rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib. AFP -
Syrians who returned from Turkey standing at a quarantine facility in the countryside of the town of Jisr Al Shughur, west of the mostly rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib. AFP -
Men wearing face masks walk along a street before curfew in Shubra El Kheima, Al Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo, Egypt. Reuters -
Abdelhak Etlili, a 19-year-old handball referee, issues a blue card for women gathered outside a shop and violating social distancing rules at the coastal town of Nabeul, Tunisia. Reuters
There are currently 200 Brazilians stuck in the Emirates due to the grounding of flights last month.
The envoy said the embassy is also assisting Brazilians who require financial or relief aid.
For the previous flight, Mr Igreja said that the embassy sponsored tickets for 50 out of the 125 passengers as they could not afford to pay.
The majority of citizens who have gone back or are requesting for special flights were tourists to the UAE.
A list with the names of 24 Brazilian expats and tourists stranded in the UAE was circulating on messenger apps and social media last week.
Among the list was Renata Cristine da Silveira Santiago, a 32-year-old who arrived in Dubai on March 15 as a tourist and was meant to return 10 days later.
She said she does not have the means to continue living in Dubai as she has spent majority of her funds on hotel payments.
“I am with a Brazilian friend, who is in the same condition as me,” she said.
“Financial conditions are increasingly scarce and we are living one day at a time. We need to go back to our country. Our family members are very apprehensive and anxious for our return to Brazil.”
Lea Silvia, 42, has been trying to get her 75-year-old mother, Meidi Horii, on a flight back to Brazil.
Ms Horri arrived to Dubai on February 16 for a visit and was supposed to return on March 31.
“We paid Dh5,400 for her round trip ticket and we’ve been asked to pay Dh3,300 in difference to get her on the special flight that has been arranged by the embassy,” said Ms Silvia.
“My job is currently on the line and I’m not sure if I’ll still be employed. I can’t afford to pay that, but at the same time, my mum has to go back. My father is in Brazil and the rest of our family.”
Ms Silvia said she is hoping the embassy can sponsor the extra amount so her mother can return home.
Those who wish to get a seat on the repatriation flight are being encouraged to email the embassy at consular.abudhabi@itamaraty.gov.br and contact Emirates.
