Emirates will resume passenger operations between Dubai and five countries in Africa from Jan. 29 after the UAE lifted restrictions on flights to 12 African nations that were put in place following the emergence of the omicron variant.

The countries being reinstated to the airline’s passenger network are Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

To South Africa, flights between Dubai (DXB) and Johannesburg (JNB) will operate daily from Jan. 29, increasing to double-daily from Feb. 1. Cape Town (CPT) and Durban (DUR) will also receive daily service from Feb. 1.

Emirates plans to offer 10X-weekly flights to Nairobi (NBO) in Kenya from Jan. 29, and 3X-weekly services to Addis Ababa (ADD) in Ethiopia from Jan. 30.

Dar Es Salaam (DAR) in Tanzania will also be served five times per week from Jan. 30, while a 6X-weekly route to Harare (HRE) in Zimbabwe will restart on the same day.

All passengers traveling from Emirates’ African network with Dubai as their final destination require a negative PCR test result obtained within 48 hours of departure.

The UAE was one of more than 70 countries to reimpose restrictions on travelers flying from South Africa and its neighboring countries following the emergence of the omicron variant in late November.

However, passengers from Botswana, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe will once again be permitted to enter the UAE from Saturday.