Coronavirus: Etihad temporarily suspends all flights between Abu Dhabi and Rome and Milan in Italy

Etihad Airways has announced that it'll be temporarily suspending all flights to and from Milan and Rome in Italy, from Saturday, March 14 onwards.

The Abu Dhabi carrier will be stopping its daily flights travelling between Abu Dhabi and Milan until further notice, in compliance with a directive from the overall Civil Aviation Authority of the UAE.

Meanwhile, its two daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Rome have also been suspended, with two final flights, EY 85 to Rome and EY 86 to Abu Dhabi, to use on Saturday.

Reduced flights to Italy

As Italy involves conditions with a blanket of travel restrictions designed to support the spread of Covid-19, other airlines have reduced or suspended flights to the united states.

From the UAE, Emirates is suspending its daily flight to Venice from March 12 to 31.

The Dubai airline is also reducing services on its Dubai to Milan route, cutting its three daily flights right down to one.

An Emirates spokesperson said: "We've temporarily reduced the frequency of our day to day flights to Milan from three to one. This remaining daily flight will continue steadily to operate as EK205/206 from Dubai to Milan, but will not operate onward to New York, as this sector in addition has been suspended from March 11 until April 3."

Emirates flights to Rome may also be cut, with services dropping from two flights each day to 1, until at least April 30.

Special flights to Saudi Arabia

Emirates and Etihad will operate special services to and from Saudi Arabia through the kingdom's non permanent suspension of flights. Authorities in Saudi Arabia announced this week that these were temporarily closing the kingdom's borders to flights from 39 countries, like the UAE.

Under a particular dispensation from authorities in Saudi Arabia, Emirates will operate three daily flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam from March 12 to March 15. From March 11, Etihad may also fly one service per day from Abu Dhabi to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.

These flights will give Saudi travellers a way to return home.

Only Saudi nationals will be allowed to travel on the Emirates flights from Dubai to Jeddah and Dammam. The flight to Riyadh will most probably to Saudi nationals and travellers holding permits for the G20 Summit. Return flights from the three Saudi airports will only most probably to non-Saudi nationals.

Etihad's flights to the kingdom will only most probably to Saudi nationals but return flights will never be restricted. Etihad has suspended all flights between Abu Dhabi and Medina until further notice.

Oman suspends tourist visas

Oman has made a decision to suspend all tourist visas for per month starting on March 15, reports local media. The news employs Sultan Haitham held his first meeting to discuss how to proceed about the existing corona outbreak. In addition, all cruise lines will be banned from entering Omani ports for a month and addititionally there is expected to be a stop on all sport activities and shisha for the same time period.

Saudi Arabia suspends flights to and from the UAE

Flights to and from Saudi Arabia for "all airline carriers" operating from several countries like the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, South Korea, Egypt, Italy, Iraq, Oman, France, Germany, Turkey and Spain have already been temporarily suspended.

Authorities announced that the measure was a bid to regulate the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Following statement from the overall Authority of Civil Aviation Saudi Arabia, all flights from the UAE to Damman, Jeddah, Medina and Riyadh were cancelled.

Emirates customers who were due to travel to or from Saudi Arabia can rebook flights on an alternative solution date or obtain a refund. The airline reminded passengers travelling from any other country, but with your final destination of Saudi Arabia, that they can not be accepted for boarding at their point of origin until further notice.

Beyond the flight suspension, the kingdom has announced that it has suspended all happen to be these 39 countries for all Saudi citizens and residents. The travel ban covers Switzerland, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Sudan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, and Somalia.

Kuwait: Etihad suspends daily flights, flydubai to operate special services

The Kuwait government has suspended all commercial flights and announced a public holiday which will last until Thursday, March 26 in a bid to regulate the spread of Covid-19.

Following the announcement, flydubai said it'll temporarily suspend all flights to and from Kuwait from Saturday, March 14.

On Thursday, March 12, flydubai's flights will operate limited to Kuwaiti nationals, immediate family and domestic helpers beneath the same sponsorship and travelling together. The airline's last flight departing Kuwait will leave at 3.05pm, on Friday, March 13.

Etihad Airways in addition has announced that it'll be suspending its three daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. The suspension will take effect from midnight Kuwait time, Friday, March 13, until further notice.

The news employs the Kuwait government announced several preventative measures to support the spread of coronavirus. All workplaces will stay closed until Thursday, March 26 and the united states has also banned individuals from going to public gathering spots such as for example restaurants and cafes, including those inside malls.

With regards to travel to Kuwait, it's always best to check travel advisory sites as the coronavirus situation is continually updating. Kuwait has temporarily suspended issuing visit visas, aside from those on diplomatic missions. School holidays in the united states are also extended until Thursday, March 26 and the federal government has banned all cinema screenings, wedding parties and hotel events.

Kuwait previously had suspended all flights to and from seven countries: Bangladesh, Syria, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. All foreign nationals landing in Kuwait were to be denied entry to the united states if they have travelled to the above countries during the past few weeks, even if they have valid residency or valid visas.

The federal government had also announced 14-day quarantines for folks returning from countries hit hard by the spread of the infection.

Etihad passengers turned around at Saudi ports

Etihad said it really is dealing with impacted travellers to re-book or refund tickets to Saudi Arabia. The airline operates up to 12 flights each day between Abu Dhabi and the kingdom. Four Etihad flights which were en-route to Saudi Arabia when your choice was designed to suspend flights landed in the kingdom.

Nationals of Saudi Arabia were permitted to disembark at Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam, but all the passengers remained on the aircraft to come back to Abu Dhabi.

The fourth flight operational during the suspension was announced operated to Medina to repatriate Umrah passengers from Saudi to the UAE.

Saudia Airlines - the national carrier for the kingdom - can be set to refund or rebook tickets for damaged travellers. The airline has waived all change fees on international flights to and from Saudi Arabia on tickets issued on or before March 31, 2020 for travel up to Wednesday April 15, 2020.

Etihad offers refunds for teachers and free change for others

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, is allowing teachers in the united states to claim a complete refund on flights which were booked for the spring break holiday.

This employs authorities in the UAE closed schools and moved the spring break holiday forward by fourteen days.

Teachers which were set to fly with Etihad can claim a full refund as long as flights were booked on or before March 5, 2020. To be eligible, teachers must definitely provide Etihad with a letter of confirmation of employment from their school or education institution.

A complete fare refund without any standard change service fees will be issued.

Travellers who aren't teachers, but who've been advised by authorities never to travel from the UAE can rebook flights, without the change fees. New bookings could be for any time up to April 15, 2020 but only 1 fee-free change will be allowed. Travellers making new bookings between March 8 and April 7 to any destination across Etihad's network can transform the date of travel or destination once, fee-free.