• The rules on how long visitors to Abu Dhabi spend in quarantine depend on where they are travelling from. Getty.
    The rules on how long visitors to Abu Dhabi spend in quarantine depend on where they are travelling from. Getty.
  • An airport worker escorts a passenger through Abu Dhabi International Airport. All photos by Victor Besa / The National
    An airport worker escorts a passenger through Abu Dhabi International Airport. All photos by Victor Besa / The National
  • A passenger wearing a face mask checks in at the Etihad counter
    A passenger wearing a face mask checks in at the Etihad counter
  • The drop-off area at Abu Dhabi airport's main departures concourse
    The drop-off area at Abu Dhabi airport's main departures concourse
  • Passengers queue for check-in for repatriation flights
    Passengers queue for check-in for repatriation flights
  • A traveller has his passport checked by security in the departures area
    A traveller has his passport checked by security in the departures area
  • Staff are hosed down with a mild disinfectant before entering public areas
    Staff are hosed down with a mild disinfectant before entering public areas
  • Etihad staff check passengers in during a media tour for The National in July
    Etihad staff check passengers in during a media tour for The National in July
  • Etihad staff check passengers in during a media tour for The National in July
    Etihad staff check passengers in during a media tour for The National in July
  • The airport has handled hundreds of flights in recent months but tourists have not been able to secure a visa since the borders closed in March
    The airport has handled hundreds of flights in recent months but tourists have not been able to secure a visa since the borders closed in March
  • The airport has handled hundreds of flights in recent months but tourists have not been able to secure a visa since the borders closed in March
    The airport has handled hundreds of flights in recent months but tourists have not been able to secure a visa since the borders closed in March
  • Passengers at the Etihad check-in desk
    Passengers at the Etihad check-in desk
  • Arrivals can expect strict hygiene measures and must quarantine for 14 days on arrival
    Arrivals can expect strict hygiene measures and must quarantine for 14 days on arrival
  • Passengers at the Etihad Check-In area at Abu Dhabi International Airport
    Passengers at the Etihad Check-In area at Abu Dhabi International Airport

UAE to suspend flights from Vietnam from June 5


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Read also: UAE likely to strike travel corridor deals with Europe and US, says Dubai Airports chief

The UAE from Saturday will suspend entry for travellers from Vietnam.

The announcement was made on Thursday by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority.

"Passengers coming from Vietnam on all flights of national and foreign carriers, as well as transit passengers coming from Vietnam" will be stopped, it said on Twitter, "with the exception of transit flights coming to the country and heading to Vietnam".

The suspension will begin at 11:59pm on Saturday.

Some people will still be allowed to travel, with the strict enforcement of precautionary measures.

These include UAE citizens and their first degree relatives, diplomatic missions between the two countries, official delegations, business planes and golden and silver residency holders, provided they receive prior approval.

Also allowed are those people who can show a certificate proving they have been fully vaccinated with an inoculation approved by the World Health Organisation, and that 28 days have passed since both doses.

‎‏Cargo flights will continue to operate between the UAE and these countries.

Last weekend, Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long announced the discovery a new variant of Covid-19 in the country.

Vietnamese authorities said the mutation was a hybrid of the Indian and British strains, but on Thursday the World Health Organisation said the variant was instead part of the existing Indian strain.

"There is no new hybrid variant in Vietnam at this moment based on WHO definition," Kidong Park, the WHO's representative in Vietnam, told the newspaper Nikkei.