Regional airlines have suspended flights to Sudan after growing civil unrest in the country.
Clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces broke out in the country on Saturday. Saudia halted flights to Khartoum after one of its planes was shot at while preparing to depart from Khartoum airport on Saturday morning.
“All personnel who were on board have made it safely to the embassy. Planes that were on their way to Sudan have returned and all flights to the country have been halted,” the Saudi airline said in a statement.
Emirates has put a stop on its services to the Sudanese capital until April 17 and will continue to monitor the situation closely, according to a representative of the airline.
“Due to the growing situation of civil unrest in the Sudanese capital, Emirates can confirm that all its flights to and from Khartoum are cancelled from 15 to 17 April inclusive. Passengers connecting to Khartoum on these flights will not be accepted for travel at their point of origin.
“Affected passengers should contact their respective travel agent or Emirates call centre for rebooking options. Emirates apologises for any inconvenience caused.”
Sharjah's Air Arabia has suspended flights until further notice, while flydubai has also blocked bookings on its Khartoum services on March 16 and 17. The airline normally operates a daily service to the Sudanese city.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation. We apologise for the inconvenience caused to our passengers’ travel schedules,” said a flydubai representative.
Sudan’s central doctors committee has said at least 56 civilians have been killed and about 600 were injured in the street fighting. Twenty-five people have been killed in the capital Khartoum, the committee said on Sunday morning, including 17 civilians and eight military personnel.
Seven civilians were killed in Bahri, a city north of the capital, while 11 were reported dead in Omdurman.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Rating: 3.5/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
