Emirates flights from India and three other countries were suspended until July 28

Passenger flights from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka will remain suspended until at least July 28, Emirates airline announced on Friday.

The Dubai-based carrier said the decision was made in line with UAE government directives.

Emirates also said passengers who have transited through India, Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka in the past 14 days will not be allowed to travel from any other destination to the UAE.

UAE citizens, golden visa holders and members of diplomatic missions who comply with updated Covid-19 regulations are exempt from the ruling.

The exemption also applies to participants in Expo 2020 Dubai.

Emirates said its contact centres were “experiencing a greater volume of calls than anticipated”.

“If your call is not related to travel within the next 48 hours, please consider calling back later,” the airline said in its travel update.

Passenger flights from India were initially suspended on April 24 because of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the country. Since then, the suspension has been extended several times.