UAE airlines achieve highest 7-star safety rating against Covid-19

Dubai - Emirates, Etihad, flydubai and Air Arabia rated very highly for deep cleaning aircraft, maintaining social distance, passenger sanitizer kits.

By Waheed Abbas

Published: Tue 9 Feb 2021, 12:56 PM

The UAE airlines are the safest to fly during the coronavirus pandemic, achieving the highest seven-star rating for their safety for passengers as well as flight attendants.

Dubai’s Emirates, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, budget carriers flydubai and Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia have been rated highly by global airline quality rating company airlineratings.com for their compliance with the safety measures against Covid-19.

Emirates airline has achieved the highest safety seven-star rating for its Covid-19 website information and instructions, social distancing on boarding, flight attendant personal protection equipment, face masks compulsory, meal service modified, passengers sanitizer kit and deep clean of aircraft.

Earlier this month, Emirates introduced self-check-in and bag drop kiosks at Dubai International, making passenger check-ins touchless to enhance safety of the passengers. The kiosks allow customers to check-in, receive their boarding pass, choose seats on board, and drop off their bags. New services have also been added to allow passengers to make payments for ancillary purchases, such as additional baggage allowance, directly at the kiosks.

Etihad Airways has also been rated the safest for its social distancing on boarding, Covid-19 website information and instructions, good personal protection equipment by flight attendants, ensuring wearing of face-masks, modification in meal service, passenger sanitizer kit and deep cleaning of the planes.

In partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the UAE full-fledged as one of the first airlines in the world to trial Iata’s Travel pass, a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for Covid-19 testing or vaccine information.

Budget carrier Air Arabia also enjoys very high safety rating for its safety protocols.

Flydubai also achieves seven-star for Covid-19 compliance in all the key elements such as wearing of PPE equipment by cabin crew, supply of sanitizer kits to passengers and deep clean of aircraft.

All the three airlines also achieved top rating for fatality-free operations.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com