The airline has suspended flights to three major Australian cities until further notice, and flights to Hong Kong and South Africa for a limited time…

When it comes to international travel at the moment, the only certainty is that things are liable to change. On Saturday, Emirates Airlines announced flight suspensions to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, Australia until further notice.

Emirates will fly its final services to Sydney on January 18, and Melbourne on January 19. The last flight to Brisbane took off yesterday. According to the Emirates website, “Due to operational reasons, Emirates flights to/from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne will be suspended until further notice.” Emirates will continue to make twice-weekly flights to Perth, Western Australia.

The move follows the Australian Government’s decision to halve the already very limited number of international arrivals it will accept. With the strict flight caps in place, it has become increasingly difficult for international airlines to service these routes. New requirements have also been introduced regarding air crew testing and quarantine.

The announcement is a blow to Australian expats in the UAE and around the world, who’ve been struggling to return home since Australia introduced some of the world’s strictest border restrictions in March 2020.

Emirates temporarily suspends flights to South Africa

On January 14, Emirates Airlines announced that it was temporarily suspending all flights to South Africa, from Saturday January 16 to Thursday January 28. The airline cited “operational reasons” for the suspension.

Emirates temporarily suspends flights to Hong Kong

On January 9, Emirates announced that it was suspending all flights to Hong Kong, until January 22. The move follows a directive from Hong Kong authorities.

The Emirates website says customers holding tickets on flight EK384 with a final destination to Hong Kong, from 9 to 22 January 2021, will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin. However, customers travelling to Bangkok as the final destination will be accepted for travel.

Flights from Hong Kong to Dubai will continue as planned.

Travel update passengers from UK and Germany to Dubai

Last week, Emirates Airlines updated its travel requirements for passengers flying to Dubai. As of 8am Saturday, January 16, passengers from the UK and Germany will be required to present a negative PCR test result prior to boarding. The test must be taken no more than 96 hours prior to flying.

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