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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates \u2014 The United Arab Emirates\u2019 potentially indefinite status on the U.K.\u2019s \u201cred list\u201d for travel has stoked anger and confusion, made more uncertain by the latest statements coming from the British government.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps indicated the UAE might stay on the U.K.\u2019s red list due to its status as an international transit hub, despite its falling infection trends and the world\u2019s second-fastest vaccination campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not restricting the UAE due to the level of coronavirus in the UAE,\u201d Shapps told an aviation event on Wednesday. \u201cThe issue is one of transit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments drew sharp criticism from Emirates\u2019 President Tim Clark: \u201cLeaving us on the \u2018red list\u2019 for reasons of transit doesn\u2019t make any sense because (passengers) can just go through other hubs,\u201d he told a recent online event. \u201cIt compromises our United Kingdom operation for Emirates. It\u2019s a real pity if they keep us on the red list.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being on the U.K.\u2019s red list comes with a high price, and has real consequences for the 120,000 Brits living in the Gulf country and their family members. It requires anyone entering the U.K. from a red list country to quarantine in a government-approved hotel and cover their own lodging and food costs for 10 days, at a cost of \u00a31,750 ($2,428) per person.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anyone asks me about home, I cry,\u201d said one British citizen working in Dubai who hasn\u2019t seen her family in the U.K. since mid-2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ambiguity is unbearable,\u201d said the source, who asked not to be identified because of professional restrictions. \u201cIt is much easier to establish and maintain balance in your life when you make a plan \u2014 the U.K.\u2019s interchanging positions make that impossible and it\u2019s so detrimental to people\u2019s well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/106835228-1612433935728-Dubai_vaccination_center_DHA_GettyImages-1230948336.jpg?v=1612435917&w=740&h=416\")
<\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThe U.K. red list, which bans air travel or forces a costly quarantine on arrival, currently names 40 high risk countries deemed too dangerous to travel, including India, which has seen new infections skyrocket to over 300,000 cases a day.<\/p>\n
The UAE remains on the list, despite infection rates falling to around 2,000 cases a day. Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, has placed the U.K. on its own \u201cgreen\u201d list of travel countries.<\/p>\n
CNBC has reached out to the U.K.\u2019s Foreign Commonwealth Office for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A petition to remove the UAE from the U.K. red list had received over 8,500 signatures as of April 26, reflecting a growing frustration over the travel restrictions and the cost of quarantine for one of the world\u2019s busiest air travel routes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want the Government to remove the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the Red Ban List by the summer, so that travelers can visit the safe country without needing to quarantine in a hotel on return,\u201d petitioner Mikael Aziz wrote.<\/p>\n
The U.K. government is required to respond if the petition receives 10,000 signatures or more.<\/p>\n