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The country's government has announced that foreign tourists are no longer required to undergo mandatory COVID-19 quarantine upon arrival to Jordan from 13 January. When entering the country however, non-national visitors must present the results of a PCR test for COVID-19, made no later than 72 hours before departure. At the airport, passengers need to undergo repeated tests. If the test is positive, then the tourist will have to be in self-isolation, and then take the test again.

The country's government announced yesterday, 11 January, that it will tighten it's COVID-19 lockdown measures in the coming days to combat whelming curbs in recent infections. From 14 January a new 24 hour curfew will be in place until 05.00 (local time) on 25 January. The new measures also include stricter procedures at the airport for passengers arriving from Cairo, Addis Ababa, Baghdad, Istanbul and Adana; those arriving from these destinations will have to quarantine for seven days at a hotel, while all others will quarantine for up to 72 hours.

The UK government has announced that as of 04.00 (GMT) on Tuesday 12 January, anyone arriving or returning to England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be required to self-isolate for 10 days, as the country will be removed from the list of nations that are exempt from self-isolation requirements. This includes all emirates of the UAE; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al-Quwain, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.

The government of the devolved UK administration of Scotland has announced that as of 04.00 (GMT) today, Monday 11 January, anyone arriving or returning to Scotland from Dubai will be required to self-isolate for 10 days, as the region has been removed from the list of those that are exempt from self-isolation requirements. Those passengers that have travelled back to Scotland from Dubai since 3 January 2021 are also being asked to isolate for 10 days, from the date they arrived back in the country. Other destinations in the UAE currently remain exempt from self-isolation requirements for arrival in Scotland, and arrivals to England from Dubai remain exempt from self-isolation requirements at this time also.

The Dubai-based airline has announced that it will resume non-stop flights to the U.S. city of Seattle from 1 February, as well as Dallas and San Francisco from 2 March. The addition of these three destinations will take Emirates’ North American network to 10 destinations following the resumption of services to Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York JFK, Toronto and Washington DC.

The government of South Africa has confirmed that the country will remain in adjusted COVID-19 alert level 'three', and that the 20 land ports of entry currently open will now be closed until 15 February. These include Beitbridge, Lebombo, Maseru Bridge, Oshoek, Ficksburg and Kopfontein. Entry and departure through these ports of entry will be permitted for the following reasons only: the transportation of fuel, cargo and goods, emergency medical attention for a life-threatening condition, the return of South African nationals, permanent residents or persons with other valid visas, Diplomats, the departure of foreign nationals and daily commuters from neighboring countries who attend school in South Africa.

The UK government has announced that entry into England will be banned to those who have travelled from or through any southern African country in the last 10 days including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Zambia, Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Angola – as well as Seychelles and Mauritius. This does not include British and Irish Nationals, longer-term visa holders and permanent residents, who will be able to enter but are required to self-isolate for 10 days on arrival along with their household. The government has therefore also removed Botswana, Seychelles and Mauritius from the travel corridor list, with the changes coming into place from 04.00 (local time) on Saturday 9 January 2021. The measures will be in place for an initial period of 2 weeks before being reviewed. The country's government has also removed Israel (and Jerusalem) from the 'travel corridor' list.

The country's government has announced that Saudi Arabia is to lift its travel ban and begin re-opening for tourism on 31 March. Currently, in accordance with restrictions in force as of 8 January, only non-Saudis who hold valid exit and entry, work, or residency visas are permitted to enter; travelers with tourist visas are barred from entry. Non-Saudis arriving from the UK, South Africa, India, Brazil, Argentina, and other countries where the new variant of the COVID-19 virus has been detected must currently remain outside of these countries for 14 days before entering Saudi Arabia. Saudi nationals are currently permitted to enter the kingdom from countries where the new variant has been found but must quarantine for 14 days and submit to two COVID-19 tests.

The middle-eastern airline has increased its São Paulo services to ten weekly flights and also expanded a partnership with LATAM Airlines Brasil, allowing their passengers to book travel on 45 additional LATAM Airlines Brasil flights and have access to over 40 domestic and international destinations on the South American carrier’s network. This includes Brasilia, Curitiba, Porto Velho, Rio Branco, Rio de Janeiro, São José, Lima (Peru), Montevideo (Uruguay) and Santiago (Chile).

The Australian airline has said that it has started taking bookings for international flights from 1 July; Qantas had previously said that it did not expect to fly internationally until much later in the year. Ticket sales for Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, which had been set to start in March, have been pushed back to July, while other destinations like London have been brought forward from October. New Zealand is the only overseas destination to which Qantas is currently flying.

The middle-eastern airline has announced that it will bring forward the launch of four weekly flights to Seattle on its Boeing 777 aircraft to the new date of 29 January. The move will mean that the airline's U.S. network will grow to 11 gateways, surpassing the number of destinations they operated in the country pre-COVID-19.

The airline has announced that it will resume the operation of five weekly flights to Dubai from 11 January; the flights to and from Dubai will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday each week. The national carrier of the sultanate of Oman has said that it will maintain its comprehensive safety program throughout all elements of the journey to ensure that passengers fly confidently.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline has confirmed it will commence flights to Athens from Abu Dhabi International Airport from 15 January, and to Thessaloniki from 4 February.

The country's government has extended a ban on entry previously imposed on passengers arriving from the UK, the Netherlands and South Africa; the measure is now set to expire no earlier than 13 January, after previously being set to expire on 7 January. The restriction has been in place since 22 December following the emergence of new and more infectious strains of COVID-19 in the UK and South Africa.

The airline has continued to expand its portfolio of partnerships by signing an expanded 'codeshare' agreement with Oman Air. The deal is designed to boost connectivity and provide more flexible travel options for customers. The expanded agreement is the first step in further strengthening strategic cooperation between the two airlines that first began in 2000. Sales of the additional destinations will commence in 2021.

The airline has confirmed the addition of six new flight routes to its network out of the UK. The new routes, launching in the spring, offer connections between Doncaster Sheffield, Gatwick and London Luton airports and sunshine destinations in Turkey, Bulgaria, Spain and Greece. The new holiday routes include four summer-only routes from Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

The country's government has announced that to curb the spread of COVID-19, it has temporarily suspended international flights and entry of foreign nationals to Saudi Arabia. Subject to certain restrictions, some airlines may allow foreign nationals to exit the country, however this excludes countries with the new strain of COVID-19. Passengers should contact their airline for the latest updates and follow the advice of local authorities.

The country's government has announced that it has entered an adjusted COVID-19 alert level 'three' with immediate effect, from 29 December until at least 15 January. Among the amended restrictions, all indoor and outdoor gatherings will be prohibited for 14 days and a nationwide curfew will be extended and will be in place between 21.00 and 06.00 (local time) each night. Non-essential establishments must close by 20.00, and it is compulsory for every person to wear a mask in a public place. All beaches, dams, lakes, rivers, public parks and public swimming pools in hotspots will also be closed from 29 December.

The country's government has announced the closure of Angola's air, land, and sea borders to passenger travel to and from Australia, Nigeria, South Africa, and the UK from 23.59 (local time) on 26 December due to the emergence of a variant strain of COVID-19; it is currently unclear how long this measure will be in place. Regardless of the travel ban, entry into Angola remains highly restricted as part of the nation's pandemic-related state of calamity, which is in effect until at least 10 January 2021. International travel and internal restrictions therefore remain in place.

The country's government has announced that only Turkish citizens, foreign nationals with a residency permit for Turkey, state officials or diplomatic personnel will be now permitted to travel from South Africa, the UK and Denmark to the country on direct flights; passengers must also present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result obtained a maximum of 72 hours prior to their arrival. Passengers will be required to quarantine and will be subjected to a further COVID-19 PCR test seven days later. Weekday and weekends curfews also apply while in-country.