Related: Passengers scramble for indirect flights as experts slam UK quarantine system
A British mother and daughter who travelled from Dubai to London on Monday were among the first batch of passengers required to stay at quarantine hotels in the UK.
Hawa Omar, 52, and Faiza Shafi, 33, from east London, were taken to the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel, near Heathrow Airport, after arriving from Dubai via Frankfurt in Germany.
They will share a twin room for 10 days, owing to Ms Omar's health issues, at a cost of £2,400 ($3,325).
The pair said they were due to arrive back in the UK on February 12 – before the new quarantine rules came into force – but Emirates airline cancelled two flights, which pushed back their arrival date.
It's horrible - and all because our flights were changed last minute
They had travelled to Dubai from Nairobi, Kenya, after visiting a sick relative, who later passed away.
"We left the UK for Nairobi on January 12 and had to transit through Dubai," Ms Shafi told The National from her hotel room.
"We were due to leave Nairobi on February 8 and spend five days in Dubai, departing for the UK on February 12.
"But we received an email from Emirates saying the flight home had been rescheduled to February 13, and when we'd boarded the plane from Nairobi to Dubai, I received another email saying the flight from Dubai to London had been cancelled.
“Because we were already on the plane, I had no choice but to wait to make alternative flight arrangements when we arrived in Dubai.”
They were offered seats on Emirates Flight EK 45 from Dubai to Frankfurt on Sunday, with an onward connection from Frankfurt to London, flying with Lufthansa.
But after checking in for their Emirates flight and reaching the gate, Ms Shafi said they were unable to board the plane.
An Emirates spokeswoman told The National that Flight EK 45 from Dubai to Frankfurt on February 14 was delayed by technical issues.
She said the airline worked closely with "all relevant authorities to help get passengers home while ensuring travellers met the entry requirements of their destination".
Airline staff said there was a technical issue with the aircraft and Ms Shafi said about "50 to 60 passengers headed for the UK" were put on a later flight.
“Staff told us there was another flight departing for Frankfurt at 12.15pm, so we switched gates and waited to board,” she said.
“We were then told that we would miss our connecting flight to the UK and as such, were refused boarding on that flight too.
"We were in tears and so frustrated by this stage because my mum is in a wheelchair after hurting her leg from a fall," Ms Shafi said.
By 3pm they were informed they would be put up in a hotel in Dubai and rebooked on the flight to Frankfurt the next morning – by which time the UK's hotel quarantine scheme would have begun.
The mother and daughter eventually landed in the UK at 6pm local time on Monday.
“We tried to plead with border security staff that we didn’t have the funds to pay for hotel quarantine and were delayed because of Emirates airline but they couldn’t do anything for us," Ms Shafi said.
“They told us hotel quarantine was a government-enforced measure and the only thing they could do was set up a long-term payment plan to pay off the hotel charges.
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"I can't pay this amount, even in instalments. I have bills to pay and was left jobless by Covid-19," she said.
“We feel like we’re in a prison and it was through no fault of our own.”
Ms Shafi said the days at the hotel are a struggle. She said they are limited to three drinks a day and that the meals are "akin to plane food".
To stretch their legs, the mother and daughter have to schedule a walk in the hotel car park accompanied by security staff.
"There are so many people here, so many security personnel," she said.
"We even asked for an extra drink the other day and we were told no, because we had a set amount of food and drink each day. It's horrible, and all because our flights were changed last minute."
All British and Irish citizens and residents of the UK who arrive in England after being in a high-risk Covid-19 country now have to spend 10 days in quarantine in hotels.
The red list of 33 countries includes Portugal, the UAE, South Africa and Brazil.
The new regulations were brought in to stop Covid variants entering the country. It applies to arrivals who have been in one of the red-list destinations in the past 10 days.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
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Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
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The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Bio
Born in Dubai in 1994
Her father is a retired Emirati police officer and her mother is originally from Kuwait
She Graduated from the American University of Sharjah in 2015 and is currently working on her Masters in Communication from the University of Sharjah.
Her favourite film is Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
No.6 Collaborations Project
Ed Sheeran (Atlantic)
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Two products to make at home
Toilet cleaner
1 cup baking soda
1 cup castile soap
10-20 drops of lemon essential oil (or another oil of your choice)
Method:
1. Mix the baking soda and castile soap until you get a nice consistency.
2. Add the essential oil to the mix.
Air Freshener
100ml water
5 drops of the essential oil of your choice (note: lavender is a nice one for this)
Method:
1. Add water and oil to spray bottle to store.
2. Shake well before use.
Titanium Escrow profile
Started: December 2016
Founder: Ibrahim Kamalmaz
Based: UAE
Sector: Finance / legal
Size: 3 employees, pre-revenue
Stage: Early stage
Investors: Founder's friends and Family
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
