Across the world, international air travel has been brought to a near standstill by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Commercial routes into the UAE have been suspended since March 19.
More than 29,000 residents overseas have signed up to a government registration service, Twajudi, for those who want to return to the UAE.
Here, The National tells the stories of a few of those residents who are currently unable to return to the country.
Expectant mum flew to Saudi long before lockdown
Indian national Nadhiya Khalil, 27, flew to Saudi Arabia in early March to see her mother.
She is now in her 32nd week of pregnancy and is concerned that she will run out of time to travel back to the UAE to give birth.
As per Emirates and Etihad travel policy, passengers are not allowed to fly once they reach the 37th week of a single pregnancy.
“She has only weeks left before airlines impose medical travel restrictions on her,” Mustafa Sayed, 26, her husband said.
“We have been dreaming of welcoming our first baby into the world together for so long.”
"I know the UAE is doing everything it can to keep people safe and reduce coronavirus cases, but my wife needs to get home to give birth,” Mr Sayed, an engineer in Dubai, said.
Mother went to Pakistan for operation insurance didn't cover
The National has spoken to several parents who have been separated from their young children due to the pandemic.
Among them is Dubai resident Sobia Imran, who had never spent a night apart from her children until she flew to Pakistan for an operation that her UAE medical insurance did not fully cover in early March.
“It’s just been horrible being separated from them for so long,” she said of her children, son Adeem, 14, and daughter Sarim, 12.
Ms Imran, 42, said flights from Pakistan to Dubai were suspended two days before she was due to return.
She is worried she will lose her job if she stays away any longer.
“I need to get back home to Dubai.”
She is unsure how much longer she will be able to cope without her family.
“I’ve only been able to speak to them over the phone since I’ve been stranded here,” she said. “It has been so upsetting and I’ve been crying every day. I miss them so much.”
Pregnant airline worker went to see family three weeks before flights halted
Vane V, an airline worker, travelled to Mauritius to see her family on March 6 and is now 31 weeks pregnant.
When travel restrictions started to become more widespread, she said she tried to book a flight back to Dubai but passenger planes arriving into Mauritius were also suspended on March 19.
"The birth of our first baby should be a special moment for both my husband and I,” Ms Vane.
“We're desperate to get back to the UAE because everything has been planned carefully for the delivery of our baby in Dubai.
“My doctor is there, my hospital bed is booked and everything we bought for the baby’s arrival is at our home in Dubai.
“I'll be 40 in October, so having my first child it is important that everything goes well and smoothly,” she said.
Couple regret last minute holiday to Armenia
Allaina Pelayo, another expectant mother, and her husband, Eudinson Uy, both from the Philippines, say they have been stuck in Armenia for more than a month.
They now find themselves running out of cash and around 2,000km from home.
“We flew to Yerevan in Armenia on March 14 for a holiday and we were due to return on March 22,” Mr Uy, 33, said.
As the UAE flight ban was announced, we tried to rebook our return trip as soon as possible but were not able to.
“My wife needs to see her doctor in Dubai as she is due to have a scan to check the health of our first baby.
“We had to transfer to a hostel and we are sharing food and expenses with other stranded Filipinos.
“We are spending about Dh70 per day including our hostel stay, and just have about Dh1,000 left in our pockets.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
MATCH INFO
RB Leipzig 2 (Klostermann 24', Schick 68')
Hertha Berlin 2 (Grujic 9', Piatek 82' pen)
Man of the match Matheus Cunha (Hertha Berlin
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
RESULTS
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
