December has always been the prime time for travel, be it going away to take advantage of the long National Day weekend at the beginning of December or travelling related to the festive season later in the month. This year is unlike any other with the pandemic still wrecking havoc and uncertainty around the world and deterring many prospective travellers with ever-changing entry and quarantine rules.
For those who are willing to brave the pandemic and travel from the UAE, we have prepared for you our top tips for a smooth travel experience and a trip report based on my own recent experience flying from Aby Dhabi with Etihad earlier this week.
Although I am based in Dubai, I travel with both Emirates and Etihad, depending on what suits me best for any particular trip. This time I chose to fly with Etihad because of their great offer to take advantage of free Covid-19 testing from the comfort of one’s home*. All passengers flying from Abu Dhabi with Etihad must have a negative Covid-19 PCR test before their flight irrespective of the requirements at their destination.
- Preparation in advance is key
To make your travel experience less of a hassle, it is key to prepare all the Covid-related paperwork in advance.
If you are required to do a Covid test for your trip, make sure to arrange it in advance but not too early as it has a certain validity for travel purposes. For example, when travelling with Etihad from Abu Dhabi the test results must be received a maximum of 96 hours before your flight departure time.
If you are travelling to Abu Dhabi airport from other emirates, please bear in mind that you need to show a negative Covid test at the Abu Dhabi border to enter the emirate and the validity is a maximum of 48 hours before entering the emirate. If you would like to use the same test to enter the emirate and to fly, then you need to plan carefully to make sure your test results are still within 48 hours of receipt when entering Abu Dhabi.
Etihad’s partnership with Life Diagnostics testing laboratories makes the whole process easy – once you book your flight you can arrange a home testing by calling them or online. The turnaround time is 24 hours to book a home visit and you will get your results within 24 hours following the collection.** I found this to be an easy and quick experience overall, however, I did have to follow up several times to make sure my home collection visit was confirmed. On the positive side, it took less than 12 hours to receive my results.
Make sure you print a copy of your Covid test to show at the airport. When crossing the Abu Dhabi border you can show your negative test result on your phone (along with your EID) but please allow some extra time as there is likely to be a queue at the border. I travelled to Abu Dhabi from Dubai on Saturday afternoon and it did not add more than 10-15 minutes to my journey and the whole process was very quick and efficient.
If your destination requires you to complete any paper or online questionnaires, please make sure you do this in advance so you have one more thing taken care of before you travel.
If you a resident and planning to return to the UAE, please follow the steps for obtaining approval through the GDRFA if you are a resident of Dubai by uploading your visa, EID and passport details to get your approval to return (which you will need to book your incoming flight to Dubai). If you are a UAE resident flying back to Abu Dhabi, you will need to have a negative Covid-19 PCR test in addition to checking you are good to fly back on the ICA website. There is no need to print any approval for Abu Dhabi at the time of writing.
2. Pack small sanitiser gels, sprays and wipes in your hand luggage
In addition to packing sanitising products in your check-in luggage, I recommend packing a small travel size sanitising spray, gel and wipes into your hand luggage. Even though many airlines offer sanitising kits on board, it is always good to have your own just in case. Sanitising sprays and wipes are great to quickly disinfect your seat and any surfaces, while a small hand gel will keep you covered throughout the flight.
Below please see an example of a wellness kit that you will get on board your Etihad flight: it contains a mask, a pair of gloves, a handy small sanitiser gel and a snood. Quite a few people quickly changed into their snoods on my flight so they must be more comfortable than wearing a mask, but I have not tried it myself.
3. Take extra masks and gloves
Even though you are likely to be provided with a kit with masks and gloves by your airline, I recommend taking a stash of your own just in case. I recommend taking several masks, for example, one for the airport and another one to change into just before your flight, and then another one after the flight to get to your destination. If you have a connecting flight, then take a few more extra. I was worried that it would be uncomfortable to wear a mask on a long(ish) flight of 6 plus hours, but in reality it did not bother me at all. If you live in the UAE you are already used to wearing them everywhere, including in the scorching heat outside, so breathing through your mask on a flight is the easiest part of your trip.
The same goes for gloves – take some extra as I have discovered that you can’t have too many! Given that they cannot be worn for a long period of time as they collect germs and are only suitable for handling something once and then discarding, I found that I was going through them pretty quickly. I know they are bad for the environment so if you can recommend a better alternative, please do so in the comments below. I found them to be useful for picking up things, for example, a wellness kit handed over by the crew.
My glove donning procedures attracted the attention of a member of the crew who was very sweet to try to reassure me that they adhere to very strict standards, change their gloves frequently and I don’t need to worry about catching anything on board. All well and good but better safe than sorry!
4. Day use airport hotels instead of basic lounges
If you have a connecting flight and a few hours layover, I recommend taking advantage of special day rates offered by airport hotels rather than using basic lounges. Many airline lounges are temporarily closed due to the current situation and while some generic lounges that are still open, they may not have adequate facilities and could have limited capacity due to many passengers seeking shelter there away from the terminal crowds.
Currently, both Etihad and Emirates Business lounges in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively are open, although their First Class lounges are closed and First Class passengers are invited to use dedicated sections in the Business Class lounges. However, all Emirates lounges worldwide are closed at the time of writing and I understand many Etihad lounges are closed too except some partnership ones.
As I had a layover in Amsterdam with a few hours to go before my next flight, I decided to check into Sheraton as it is conveniently located steps away from the departures hall and offers competitive day use rates. It has everything you need to freshen up and rest before your next flight. More importantly, it has a kettle to make some tea in the comfort of your room. There are also coffee machines and tea stations on the floor for guests to help themselves. I was staying on the Club Floor so not sure if every floor has these stations through.
I have never used any of Amsterdam airport’s lounges myself but read some reviews that its Aspire lounges do not have their own bathrooms (shock horror!). No, thank you, I would rather check myself into an airport hotel!
5. Check quarantine rules even in transit countries
If you have a connecting flight, it is a good idea to check quarantine rules in your transit country even if you are staying airside just in case. Some countries require you to complete a Covid-related questionnaire and your airline may ask to present it at check-in. Also check if a negative Covid test is required as you may have to present it before you can board.
Trip report Abu Dhabi – Amsterdam
I arrived at the airport 2 hours before my flight and it was sufficient. I was asked to present my negative Covid test and a questionnaire for Amsterdam at check-in. The electronic gates were operational and there was no queue as I was the only person to go through by scanning my passport. I was hoping the airport would be this empty, however, it was not the case once I was past security. It was not super crowded but busy enough so that I had to be careful to make sure others kept their distance.
I headed straight to the Etihad lounge. It was a little bit emptier than usual but the choice of breakfast was very disappointing as the options were extremely limited. Everything was sealed off in individual containers though.
There was a last-minute gate change from T3 to T1 but luckily it was not too far to walk from the lounge. I was not too impressed with the gate as there was no separate waiting area for Business and First Class passengers and there was another gate right next to it sharing the same waiting area.
I was the first one to board (largely due to my desire to escape the waiting area asap!) so I do not know if the people were respecting social distancing when boarding. I was happy that my ride was a 787 Dreamliner so I had a comfortable and private window seat. Once the boarding was complete, the cabin was approximately half full with most people occupying the window seats.
The crew and the service were excellent like on most of my Etihad flights (I used to fly with Etihad a lot when I was based in Abu Dhabi). I did not notice much difference in service from the pre-Covid times as the quality of food seemed to be the same. The only difference was that they served meals to everyone at the same time as opposed to dining on-demand like previously. This new way of serving meals is in line with the way meal service is done on Emirates flights.
I was surprised to see that in addition to the wellness kits, there were amenity kits available, despite it being a day flight of around 6 hours. I like the new pouch design much better than the previous one without a zipper.
I must say I really missed flying after being grounded for so long (over 8 months!) so I was looking forward to seeing some stunning views from my window again and I was not disappointed – best inflight entertainment ever!
In Conclusion
This was my second flight this year after a brief trip to London in early March, and the experience was definitely different this time around. In early March no one was wearing masks yet (shock horror) and it was before the sudden border closures. It is somewhat more stressful now with the new cases rising every day and travel restrictions changing at a fast pace making it difficult to plan ahead. However, seeing everyone in protective gear and masks makes it a bit more reassuring, although some people really must learn how to wear masks properly. If you do need to travel, you should be fine if you take precautions and follow the rules.
Safe travels everyone!
Bisous,
Yasmina
*Covid testing is free for all passengers flying with Etihad, however, only Business and First class passengers are eligible for free home sample collection.
**Note – this turnaround time is for Business and First class passengers only.
