Etihad Airways suspended transit travel through Abu Dhabi airport last night (Monday).
The move came ahead of the UAE carrier’s plan to temporarily stop all flights for an initial period of 14 days from midnight on Wednesday local time.
The airline said today: “This decision has been made to limit the spread of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus and to protect citizens, residents, and international travellers.
“This has meant that passengers booked on connecting flights via Abu Dhabi to anywhere else on the Etihad network will not be permitted to travel. Etihad Airways has been making every effort to contact its affected customers prior to their arrival at the airport and to advise them of their options.
“If Abu Dhabi is the end destination, only UAE citizens, their immediate family members, diplomatic passport holders, and those with UAE-API clearance will be allowed entry into the UAE as part of previously announced Covid-19 restrictions.
“Non-UAE nationals and visitors in Abu Dhabi who are booked to depart the UAE capital prior to the full suspension of flights are not affected by these restrictions.”
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“All other passengers are advised not to go to the airport, but to visit etihad.com/travelalerts to understand their rebooking options.
“Etihad Airways regrets any inconvenience or disruption this has caused its customers.
“We continue to follow UAE and international government and regulatory authority directives and are applying a contingency plan to assist affected customers.”