Will the UAE make the UK’s travel ‘green list’?

The final decision is set to be announced this week

In a recent interview, London Heathrow Airport CEO John Holland-Kaye failed to include the UAE when mentioning potential ‘green list’ destinations being announced this month when the UK opens its borders. The UK will confirm within the coming days if international travel can resume from 17 May, and which countries will fall into each category, green, amber and red.

Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths told a Dubai-based radio station on Thursday that the airport is in “talks” to put Dubai back on the UK’s travel green list.

During an interview with a Dubai-based radio station, Griffiths said: “We have made very strong representation to the British government about the credibility of the numbers here and the way we are handling everything. There are countries on the green list that, we believe, haven’t taken the kind of care and number of measures like we have in Dubai to keep everyone safe.”

With London being an important source market for Dubai, Griffiths underlined that he is keen to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.

DXB reported passenger traffic of 5.75 million in Q1 2021, a 67% decline from the same period in 2020 that predated most Covid-19 travel restrictions.