Related: Quarantine in Dubai and Abu Dhabi - what you need to know when arriving from abroad
UAE residents stranded in India rushed to book tickets to return to Dubai after authorities in the emirate said flights from the country would resume on June 23.
Only passengers with a valid residence visa, and who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine are allowed to travel to the emirate from India.
Residents said they were willing to pay three times the regular fare and sit through "institutional quarantine" until they receive the result of the PCR test they must take on arrival in Dubai.
We are in a mess with the business because my father has never been away for more than five to six days, and it has been more than two months now
The UAE suspended incoming flights for most travellers from India on April 25, leaving thousands stranded as cases of Covid-19 soared in south Asia.
Despite this, Vishal Porwal, a 37-year-old Indian resident of Dubai, travelled home to Kanpur, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, in May for his wedding.
The area was hit by the second wave of the pandemic, and the account manager at Emirates NBD had to stay in India for a month-and-a-half, the longest he has lived at home in a decade.
He now hopes to travel back to Dubai with his wife Neha Porwal on June 25.
"I was not expecting that this news of flights being resumed would come soon," Mr Porwal said.
"This was an excellent surprise. There is a rush for booking tickets and prices are high at the moment as there are many UAE residents stuck here."
Mr Porwal said he needed to resume work in person at the bank, and while he normally pays around Dh400 for a one-way ticket from Delhi to Dubai, on this occasion he spent Dh1,200 for a flydubai flight.
"There is no choice, and I will have to pay. Work is very important in these challenging times," he said.
"I can work from home but it's not the most viable option as I have to meet clients."
He said the bank supported employees who were stranded abroad.
Although he and his wife could only have a small celebration, Mr Porwal said he was glad the ceremony went ahead.
"I had spent months planning my wedding and did not want to postpone the date," he said.
"We could just have a few family members, only 20 of us, at the wedding.
"We feel blessed that in the situation, we could get married."
Mr Porwal took both doses of the Sinopharm vaccine before travelling to India, and his wife has taken the Covishield vaccine, which is the Oxford AstraZeneca inoculation manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
Roundabout routes no longer necessary
Other UAE residents stranded in India have been forced to take roundabout routes back to the Emirates.
Mr Porwal said some of his friends had travelled to Tashkent in Uzbekistan and would stay there for two weeks before going to Dubai.
Another Dubai resident, Rohit D'Souza, also considered this option after becoming stranded in India for two months with his wife and children.
Now, he plans to fly back directly as soon as possible.
"I already had a ticket which I will reschedule. I will call Emirates to check the availability and price. As of yesterday when I called Emirates did not have clarity," Mr D'Souza said.
"I was extremely worried about when I would be able to return to Dubai.
"Initially, I came to Delhi as I was planning to fly via Tashkent, but this news came last night, and now I am waiting here to book my flights to the UAE."
Mr D'Souza travelled to Belgaum in the southern Indian state of Karnataka in April to help his parents and parents-in-law, who were unwell.
He did not expect to be stranded for two months. His children, who are enrolled at schools in Dubai, were able to continue their studies online and will return with his wife in July.
Unvaccinated still face a struggle to return
Other UAE residents stranded in India said they were worried that months will pass before they can return to the Emirates.
Gilbert Dsouza, 60, and his wife Cynthia, 55, travelled from Sharjah to Mangalore in southern India to prepare for their daughter's wedding on April 24, a day before the UAE suspended incoming flights from India.
They have not been vaccinated and contracted coronavirus in late April. The couple had a mild infection and recovered quickly, but now have to wait for three months before they can be inoculated.
Greyar Dsouza, their son, said he was worried about vaccine shortages in India and also about running the family car workshops in Sharjah on his own.
“We are hoping they get any vaccine in India just so they can get back,” he said.
“We are in a mess with the business because my father has never been away for more than five to six days, and it has been more than two months now.”
Greyar was also in India for the wedding but was among hundreds of residents who took long routes to the UAE, after incoming flights were halted to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
He spent his two-week quarantine in the Maldives in May. Others travelled through Armenia, or spent thousands of dirhams on chartering private jets to return to their jobs and families in the Emirates.
“My travel back was a bit of a circus because we were not exactly sure what would happen, and if I could be able to return,” Greyar said.
As a family, they considered it safer for him to travel than his parents.
“I needed to come back to handle the business and didn’t want them to take the risk of quarantine in another country to get back here,” he said.
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
THE%20SPECS
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THE%C2%A0SPECS
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Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
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The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
The specs: 2018 Mazda CX-5
Price, base / as tested: Dh89,000 / Dh130,000
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 188hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 251Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.1L / 100km
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
SPECS
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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
Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The specs: Audi e-tron
Price, base: From Dh325,000 (estimate)
Engine: Twin electric motors and 95kWh battery pack
Transmission: Single-speed auto
Power: 408hp
Torque: 664Nm
Range: 400 kilometres
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