Emirates resumes Nairobi, Africa flights and launches special COVID 19 health cover

Africa is getting a priority in Emirates’ latest resumption plans. Emirates has announced it will resume flights to Nairobi (from 2 August), Baghdad and Basra (from 10 August), expanding its growing network, and offering customers in Africa and around the world more convenient connections to Dubai, and via Dubai.

This will take the airline’s passenger network to 67 destinations in August, including seven points in Africa and five points in the Middle East. This underscores the strategic importance of Africa to Emirates.

Flights between Nairobi and Dubai and Basra and Dubai will operate three times a week while flights between Baghdad and Dubai will operate four times a week. The flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER and can be booked on emirates.com or via travel agents.

Customers from across Emirates’ network can now to travel to Dubai as the city has re-opened for business and leisure visitors with new air travel protocols that safeguard the health and safety of visitors and communities.

Customers can also now travel with confidence, as Emirates has committed to cover all COVID-19 related medical expenses, free of cost, should they be diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel.

This cover is offered by Emirates free of cost to its customers regardless of class of travel or destination. It is immediately effective for customers flying on Emirates until 31 October 2020 (first flight to be completed on or before 31 October 2020), and is valid for 31 days from the moment they fly the first sector of their journey. This means Emirates customers can continue to benefit from the added assurance of this cover, even if they travel onwards to another city after arriving at their Emirates destination.

Customers do not need to register or fill in any forms before they travel, and they are not obligated to utilise this cover provided by Emirates.

Any impacted customer who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 during their travel simply has to contact a dedicated hotline to take full advantage of the assistance and cover.

The hotline number, and details of what COVID-19 related expenses are covered, is available on the Emirates website.

With the gradual re-opening of borders over the summer, Emirates has revised its booking policies to offer customers more flexibility and confidence to plan their travel. Customers whose travel plans are disrupted by COVID-19 related flight or travel restrictions, can simply hold on to their ticket which will be valid for 24 months and rebook to fly at a later time. They cousin also request travel vouchers to offset against future Emirates purchases, or request refunds via an online form on Emirates' website or via their travel booking agent.

Emirates has implemented a comprehensive set of measures at every step of the customer journey to ensure the safety of its customers and employees on the ground and in the air, including the distribution of complimentary hygiene kits containing masks, gloves, hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes.

Customers are reminded that travel restrictions remain in place, and travellers will only be accepted on flights if they comply with the eligibility and entry criteria requirements of their destination countries.