U.K. drops UAE from travel corridor list as virus cases surge

Britain removed the United Arab Emirates from its travel corridor list on Monday amid a surge in coronavirus cases in the Gulf nation.

Starting from 4am on Tuesday, people returning to the U.K. from the UAE will have to self-isolate for 10 days, Britain’s travel department said in a statement. “The decision has been made following a significant acceleration in the number of imported cases, along with the number of reported new cases over the past seven days, which have risen in the UAE by 52%.”

Cases in the UAE averaged about 1,200 a day over the past couple of months, but infections started to spike at the end of December and the country reported a record 2,998 cases on Jan. 9.

Dubai-London Heathrow remains the busiest international route this month, according to flight-bookings specialist OAG, most likely driven by the travel corridor introduced late last year. Travelers from the U.K. have been flying to Dubai in droves to escape the lockdown, boosting tourism in the Middle East’s business hub.

Emirates currently serves London Heathrow with five daily flights, of which four are operated with an Airbus SE A380, according to the airline’s website. The world’s largest-long haul carrier also operates 10 flights a week to Manchester, and daily flights to Birmingham and Glasgow.