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Middle-eastern airlines Emirates and Etihad have announced the immediate suspension of UK flights from 13.00 (GMT) today, 29 January; the measures have been taken in response to an update from the UK government in which it added the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to its 'red list' of countries. This means that people who have been in or transited through the UAE (plus Burundi and Rwanda who were also added yesterday) will be denied entry to the UK, with the exception of UK and Irish nationals, and third country nationals with residence in the UK. Emirates announced it would suspend all U.K. passenger flights from 1300 (GMT) today, when the UK measures take effect. Etihad said it would only suspend flights arriving in the UK, with those departing remaining unaffected.

The government of the devolved UK administration of Wales has confirmed that current COVID-19 'lockdown' measures will be extended for a further three weeks until at least 22 February. The nation entered its most restrictive 'tier four' measures - effectively a national lockdown with a stay-at-home order - a few days before Christmas amid high case rates. The Welsh government has now said that the situation is improving; however, officials have ruled that the measures need to be extended for now to allow the health service to recover.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced that direct flights to and from the UK have been temporarily suspended as of today, 29 January, following the UK's decision to add the country to it's travel 'red list' from which non-UK and Irish nationals, or passengers of other nationalities without UK residence, are banned from entering. The suspension comes into effect from 13.00 (GMT), and passengers booked for travel on flights due to arrive in the UK after this time should not go to Dubai International Airport, but instead contact their airline for more information.

British Airways has cancelled additional flights from Johannesburg to Heathrow up until *16 April 2021 inclusive and from Cape Town to Heathrow up until *16 April 2021 inclusive (*subject to change).

The country's government announced yesterday, 28 January, that it had extended a national COVID-19 'lockdown' until mid-February, in addition to announcing further curbs on international travel. Among other measures, to attempt to curb the spread of the virus, Portuguese nationals will be banned from travelling to other countries by air, land or sea over the next 15 days; strict checks along the 1,200-km (750-mile) border with Spain will also be put in place.

The country's government has announced a closure of its borders to foreign travellers who do not have Norwegian citizenship or residency, with limited exemptions. All travellers to Norway (including citizens) must also now register no more than 72 hours prior their arrival, and arrivals from countries designated as 'high-risk' for COVID-19 must also undergo testing upon arrival. Additional restrictions apply to travellers arriving from the UK, South Africa, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Brazil. Eligible passengers travelling from a high-risk country must also present proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken within 24 hours before arrival. Norwegian residents are exempt from this requirement.

The UK’s home secretary has confirmed the introduction of a new requirement for all eligible arrivals from a list of ‘high-risk’ countries to be placed in government-assigned and monitored hotel quarantine for 10 days. Although a start date has not yet been confirmed, further guidance is to be expected from the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care next week. It has though been indicated that the measures will apply to all eligible arrivals from the UK’s ‘red list’ countries, which are deemed as high-risk for COVID-19 variants.

The country's government has yesterday, 26 January, announced a temporary suspension of all international flights which have originated from, or passed through, the countries of the UK, Ireland and South Africa. The Brazilian authorities have also suspended boarding permits for persons who have arrived from the UK and South Africa or were there in transit in the past 14 days. Failure to comply with the new rules will result in the deportation of the passenger to their country of origin.

The airline has outlined plans to restore a 'significant' proportion of its international flight network by the end of 2021, with frequency increases on key routes to the UK, Australia and New Zealand. Among these increases in frequency are plans to offer a daily flight from the country's capital of Kuala Lumpur to the UK by July. In Australia, the airline has said that it expects to operate 39 weekly return flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth by late December; services to New Zealand are set to resume from late March.

The government of Ireland has announced a tightening of travel restrictions on passengers from South Africa and Brazil, including the suspension of visa-free travel. While South Africans can still travel to Ireland with immigration permission granted for work or study, arriving passengers will be subjected to strict COVID-19 testing and quarantine protocols. South African travellers will be required to supply a negative COVID-19 PCR test result within 72 hours of their departure; even with this proof, visitors will be required to stay in a designated quarantine facility for two weeks.

The country's government has announced that from 27 January, it will resume international passenger flights to and from Qatar, India, Vietnam and Finland - from which services were previously suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an official government release, the flights to Qatar will depart three times a week, and to India, Vietnam and Finland twice a week.

From 1 February, passengers age 6 years or older will be required to wear medical grade masks on German airlines and at airports in Germany. The rule will apply to passengers flying the Lufthansa Group carriers, which include Lufthansa, Austrian, Brussels, Eurowings and Swiss; it will also apply to on Condor and TUI fly Deutschland flights as well as to anyone in passenger areas at German airports. Under the rule, surgical masks or N95 masks will be permitted - cloth face coverings and masks with an outlet valve will not be allowed, and passengers must supply the masks themselves.

The country's government yesterday, 25 January, signed an order suspending entry to most non-U.S. citizens who have previously been in South Africa, which will be effective from 30 January. Also signed was an order extending an entry ban on nearly all non-U.S. travellers who have been in Brazil, the United Kingdom, Ireland and 26 countries in Europe.

All non-residents entering Denmark must show a worthy cause for travel and proof of a negative COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen test) taken no more than 24 hours before boarding the aircraft. Danish nationals and residents must also present a negative COVID-19 test. Additional entry restrictions apply to residents from the UK and South Africa. Direct flights from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Denmark are banned from 22 to 26 January 2021. Also, COVID-19 tests taken in the UAE between these dates won't be accepted. If you're travelling to Denmark from the UAE on a continuous journey (transferring at one or more airports), you'll have to take a test in another country before boarding the final flight to Denmark.

The country's government announced today, 25 January, that all incoming passengers to the country will now be required to present a qualifying, negative COVID-19 PCR test result; this includes arrivals from the European Union (EU). The measures have been taken in an attempt to prevent a rise in new, more contagious variants of the virus. Domestically, the country currently plans to ease other restrictions and re-open secondary schools, shopping malls and gyms from 4 February.

The country's government has announced that from 00.01 (local time) on 25 January it will temporarily suspend entry to all foreign nationals entering Sweden from Norway, in a bit to halt a new COVID-19 variant first discovered in the UK. The measures, which include exemptions for commuters and limited other groups, are set to last until 14 February. Sweden's government is also reportedly considering extending existing bans on entry from the UK and Denmark.

The country's government has announced that it will be banning both incoming visitors and outbound residents from travel for the purposes of tourism until at least 1 March in order to limit the spread of new variants of COVID-19; the measure will come into effect from 27 January. People will still though be able to cross borders for essential trips, such as for work or for medical treatment. Belgium will also tighten rules on people arriving from Britain, South Africa or South America, where more transmissible variants have been found, with a mandatory 10-day quarantine.

The UK transport secretary has announced that an urgent decision has been made to ban non-UK and Irish nationals arriving from Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo from 04.00 (GMT) today, Friday 22 January; an exemption is also granted to third country nationals with UK residence rights. The suspension is related to the ongoing monitoring of new strains of COVID-19 in a number of countries. Although the ban does not apply to British and Irish Nationals, and third country nationals with residence rights, all passengers returning from these destinations must also self-isolate for 10 days along with their households.

The airline has announced that all passengers flying outbound from Singapore, and inbound to Singapore from Indonesia, will soon be able to book pre-departure COVID-19 PCR and serology tests as part of a new trial service; the scheme will be operated in partnership with the medical services provider Collinson. Subject to success, the programme is expected to be expanded to include more cities in the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir network, and is the first time that the airline has offered pre-departure testing services with a global partner to its passengers.

The country's government has announced that from 23 January it will suspend all flights to and from the UK, as Portugal continues its efforts tackle a rapid spread of a new variant of COVID-19. Only special repatriation flights are due to be permitted to operate between both countries, according to Portugal's prime minister.