A farewell sticker is being placed in passports for passengers leaving UAE

The touching message reads “Have a Safe Flight, We’ll Meet Soon”…

Those travellers who were left stranded in the UAE due to the coronavirus pandemic and are slowly returning to their home countries are receiving a heartfelt sticker in their passports from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA).

As airlines begin flying a limited number of passenger flights from Dubai Airports, the GDRFA in charge of regulating the entry/exit of travellers through Dubai, have launched a special sticker that reads “Have a Safe Flight, We’ll Meet Soon”.

The initiative comes as part of the UAE’s effort to provide support to people who’ve been stranded in the country.

In an interview with Gulf News, Major General Mohammad Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA-Dubai stated “The sticker will be last thing they see when they leave the country. They will always be more than welcome in the UAE. The orders issued by the UAE Cabinet in waiving their fines in these exceptional times is part of the UAE humanitarian policy and supporting people across the work in difficult times.”

View this post on Instagram

‏ • أطلقت الإدارة العامة للإقامة وشؤون الأجانب بدبي ملصقا توديعاً خاصاً لرعايا الدول الذين غادروا أراضي دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة للعودة إلى أوطانهم عبر مطار دبي الدولي بعد أن تعذر عليهم مغادرة البلاد بسبب الأوضاع الراهنة. ويحمل الملصق عبارة "رافقكتم السلامة .. إلى لقاء قريب " تحمل في طياتها كثير من مشاعر الصدق والوفاء للزائرين والمقيمين الذين كانوا على أرض دولة الإمارات، وجاءت هذه المبادرة لتؤكد تضامن #إقامة_دبي مع جهود دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، ومواقفها الإنسانية في تقديم الرعاية والدعم لرعايا الدول الشقيقة والصديقة. #GDRFADubai launched a special sticker to the citizens and visitors to the UAE who have left the country to return to their countries through Dubai International Airport after they were unable to leave the country due the current situation. ‏⁧‫#الاستعداد_للخمسين‬⁩ ‏⁧‫#إقامة_دبي_مستعدة‬⁩ ‏⁧‫#ملتزمون_ياوطن‬⁩ ‏⁧‫#خلك_في_البيت‬⁩

A post shared by إقامة دبي Gdrfadubai (@gdrfadubai) on

Al Marri also stated that the initiative was a message of hope for the passengers.

After receiving approval from UAE authorities, Emirates airlines are carrying outbound travellers only. At the moment, Emirates will be flying passengers to London Heathrow and Frankfurt until April 19. Starting today, April 12, the flights will be taking off from Terminal 3.

Etihad Airways has also launched a series of repatriation flights from Abu Dhabi to  Seoul, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta, Melbourne and Amsterdam.

For all repatriation services from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, there are strict entry restrictions in place, and travellers are advised to check with their local authorities prior to booking.

Images: Dubai Media Office