Visa on Arrival has been suspended for all nations from March 19 (until further notice) as part of UAE’s efforts to contain the Coronavirus outbreak. The UAE had earlier suspended all entry visas to foreigners from March 17 with the only exceptions being diplomatic passport holders and those eligible for visa on arrival.

However, now the suspension extends to all nations as per tweets made by the country’s missions in the UK and Australia have tweeted.

Travel to and from the UAE has been largely affected due to travel impositions and restrictions being implemented across the globe and the region, forcing many airlines to halt and make changes to their services.

Etihad has halted more flights from Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and reduced its daily flights to Indian cities such as Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai. The airline has also temporarily suspended all flights to Baku, Cairo, Amman, Saudi Arabia, Nairobi, Kuwait and Lebanon among other destinations. “This is being carried out for the safety and convenience of its customers and staff, and to minimise operational disruption during this period,” said the airline.

Earlier yesterday, Emirates and flydubai also suspended at least 16 more routes. Emirates said aircraft plying to and from nine cities in Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Turkey will be grounded and flydubai services to India, Ukraine, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Sudan were halted yesterday, with more due to be cancelled today. These include Azerbaijan, Baku, Djibouti and Egypt.