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The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will resume three weekly services to Malta via Larnaca, Cyprus, from 14 July; the resumption further expands its European network to 34 destinations and enhanced connectivity via Dubai.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will will resume flights to Nice from 2 July and Lyon 9 July, initially offering four flights per week to each French city; the move is in line with France easing its COVID-19 entry requirements for visitors. The lifting of entry restrictions will enable travellers based in the UAE to visit France without the need for quarantine.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline has reportedly dropped its flight route to Los Angeles permanently from its online route map; Etihad's decision not to resume Los Angeles flights as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to winds down leaves the airline with just three U.S. destinations - New York JFK, Washington Dulles and Chicago O'Hare. Prior to the pandemic, Etihad operated flights to Los Angeles five times per week, but the route has been suspended since March 2020.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will resume four weekly services to Thailand's resort island of Phuket from 2 July, to coincide with the re-opening of the popular destination to international tourists; in addition, those who are vaccinated against COVID-19 will enjoy even fewer restrictions, with no quarantine applicable on arrival. The Dubai-Phuket route will be operated with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, offering premium services in first and business class as well as economy class.

The middle-eastern airline has announced the upcoming launch of a seasonal service between Muscat and Tbilisi, Georgia; Oman Air will offer two weekly direct flights, on Wednesdays and Sundays, operated with a Boeing 737 aircraft. The flights are currently due to operate until mid-September, subject to government approvals.

The Dubai-based airline has said that it will resume flights to Venice from 1 July, initially offering three weekly services on the route. Emirates will also increase services to Milan from eight to ten weekly flights in July. This will comprise of a daily service on the Dubai-Milan-New York JFK route, and a three-weekly return flights between Dubai and Milan. Together with five weekly flights to Rome and three weekly flights to Bologna, this will take the total services to Italy to 21 weekly flights to four cities in July.

The government of the Seychelles has announced that from 2 June, South Africa has been reinstated to the non-permitted list of countries for entry; this means that only Seychellois and permanent residents are allowed to enter the Seychelles, and are to be quarantined for 10 days in a certified establishment regardless of of proof of COVID-19 vaccination - which should be submitted when applying for entry. More information can be found on the Seychelles government portal.

The government of Zambia has revised its COVID-19 entry requirements, meaning that arriving passengers from South Africa will be required to undergo a quarantine period; from 24 May, at all points of entry, all inbound passengers must present a negative PCR test certificate, conducted within 72 hours of departure from the country of origin. Passengers from a country on the high-risk list will have to quarantine at home or in a designated facility for 14 days, at their own cost. Only travellers who have complete documentary proof that they are fully vaccinated will be exempt from quarantine.

U.S. carriers United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have resumed flights to Tel Aviv, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a cease-fire in unrest that had included rockets fired in the vicinity of Ben Gurion International Airport. Delta Air Lines operated its first flight from New York to Tel Aviv since early last week on the evening of 21 May; United Airlines also resumed service on 21 May, and American Airlines plans to restart flights from New York to Tel Aviv on 24 May.

The country's government re-opened its borders to international tourists on 24 May following a fall in COVID-19 infections, but said it would take time for passengers to start arriving and to revive its tourism industry. Under an easing of its restrictions, a plan to start letting in small groups of tourists from countries using COVID-19 vaccines of which it approves will begin; due to continue until 15 June, visits by 20 groups of between 5 and 30 tourists from countries including the United States, Britain and Germany have been given the green light.

The government of the Maldives has said that it is in the process of creating a travel corridor between the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which will allow COVID-19 vaccinated passengers to move freely between the two nations; however as of now, no specific date has been revealed.

The suspension of passenger uplift from South Africa ( JNB, DUR & CPT) to Dubai has been further extended up to & including 30th June 2021. Daily Passenger services to JNB only will continue as per below. EK763 DXB 09h55 – JNB 16h15 ( local time ) (passengers & cargo) EK764 JNB 19h10 ( local time ) – DXB 05h25 +1 (cargo only) *** Please note passengers who have been to or connected through South Africa in the last 14 days are not permitted to board from any other point to the UAE ***

The airline has confirmed a further extension of its suspension of flights to South Africa; under the updated announcement, Delta Air Lines has cancelled flights until at least 4 August. This could, however, be subject to change.

The airline has confirmed a further extension of its suspension of flights to South Africa; under the updated announcement, flights between London and Cape Town are suspended until at least 5 June, and flights between London and Johannesburg are suspended until at least 2 June. However, this could be subject to change dependent on developments with the relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions.

The airline has said that it aims to resume flights in July or August, but the restart date will depend on how the COVID-19 pandemic progresses and whether the airline can resolve a pilot dispute; state-owned South African Airways (SAA), which was put into administration in December 2019, has not flown commercially since September, when its administrators further postponed all operations pending funding for a restructuring.

The government of Saudi Arabia has from 17 May lifted a 'ban' on citizens travelling out of the Gulf state without prior permission from authorities. Saudi nationals who have received at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose a minimum of two weeks prior to travel, those who have recovered from COVID-19 within the last six months, and those under 18 will be allowed to travel for the first time since March 2020.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) airlines Etihad Airways and flydubai have announced the cancellation of flights to Israel's Tel Aviv, joining others making similar decisions due to escalating hostilities in the region; Abu Dhabi's Etihad has suspended all passenger and cargo services to Tel Aviv from 16 May, while flydubai has also cancelled flights from Dubai on 16 May, although other services are currently scheduled for the following week.

The Abu Dhabi-based low-cost airline has announced that it will open a new base in Rome, offering 32 new flight services to 19 countries; Wizz Air have said this is the biggest number of routes ever announced at one time, and four Airbus A321neo aircraft will be based at Rome Fiumicino airport in July to facilitate. The new services, which include two UK routes from Rome to London Luton and Liverpool John Lennon, will complement the 25 routes already operating from Rome Fiumicino and Rome Ciampino airports.

A number of U.S. airlines including United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines have canceled flights between the U.S. and Israel's capital of Tel Aviv, according to data from online flight trackers; the cancellations have been made in response to escalating conflict in the region. Passengers should check their flight status carefully prior to travelling to the airport.

The airline has said that it plans to launch a four times per week service from Entebbe, Uganda to South Africa's Johannesburg from 31 May.