The long-awaited announcement from Emirates regarding the restarting of its passenger services on the South African route was finally made today.

This came after the news broke yesterday that the UAE would begin to allow in foreign visitors from African countries that had been ‘red-listed’ due to the Omicron variant.

The airline says it will resume South Africa services, along with four other African services, with effect from Saturday, January 29.

A daily Johannesburg flight begins on January 29 and double-daily services on the route commence from February 1. An A380 is to be used on both Joburg flights.

Daily flights to and from Cape Town and Durban will operate from February 1.

Emirates also says it will operate to Harare with six weekly flights linked to its Lusaka service from January 30.

East African routes

The carrier will operate 10 weekly flights between Dubai and Nairobi from January 29 and says its flights between Dubai and Addis Ababa will operate daily from January 30. Dar es Salaam will be served with five flights a week from January 30. 

Passengers travelling from Emirates’ African network with Dubai as their final destination require a 48-hour PCR test. They must present a valid negative COVID‑19 PCR test certificate with a QR code for a test conducted at an approved facility, and the validity must be calculated from the time the sample was collected. Upon arrival in Dubai, passengers will undergo an additional COVID‑19 PCR test and remain in self‑quarantine until the test results are received.

Passengers transiting in Dubai must follow the requirements and regulations of their final destination.