Dubai has officially opened its borders to international travellers following lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Emirates flight EK004 from London Heathrow carrying British visitors was one of the first to arrive at Dubai International Airport this morning.

Visitors arrived to a warm welcome and were presented with gifts from Dubai Tourism to greet them.

Emirates currently flies from Dublin, Glasgow, London Heathrow, and Manchester to Dubai.

Alongside the borders reopening, Dubai has been awarded with the World Travel & Tourism Council Safe Travels Stamp, following the due diligence shown across the industry to ensure safety and hygiene measures have been implemented to keep residents and visitors safe in the city.

The stamp has been specially designed to allow travellers to recognise governments and companies around the world which have adopted health and hygiene global standardised protocols.

Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism), said: “As we reopen Dubai’s doors to tourism and welcome our international visitors back to the city, our foremost priority is their wellbeing, achieved through stringent hygiene and safety protocols that have been deployed across all tourist touch points.

“The WTTC Safe Travels stamp endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.

“We trust that our efforts not only provide an optimised experience for our visitors, but also secure their health and that of their families, further cementing the confidence that our guests have had thus far in Dubai, and encouraging people from every corner of the world to visit one of the safest cities in the world this summer.”