Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has welcomed the introduction of a visa waiver for Seychellois passport holders travelling to the UAE, effective tomorrow (July 16).

Seychellois will now be granted a visa free of charge on arrival, for a period of up to 90 days.

Joël Morgan, minister of Foreign Affairs and Transport and chairman of Air Seychelles, said: “This visa waiver simplifies travel to the UAE for Seychellois passport holders and brings our two countries, which have longstanding bilateral relations, closer together.
                                                            
“It signals a clear intent to build on our existing relationship and symbolises the deep level of trust between Seychelles and the UAE, our largest outbound travel destination and the country with most air connections to our archipelago,” he said.

Commencing July 1, the combined number of return flights operated by Air Seychelles and Etihad Airways between Seychelles and Abu Dhabi increased to 14 per week.

Roy Kinnear, chief executive officer of Air Seychelles, said: “This exciting development makes travel to the UAE more affordable and convenient for Seychellois, who no longer need to pay or wait for a visa to be processed.”

“This visa waiver also makes it convenient for our guests to add a stopover in Abu Dhabi to their travel plans; for instance, combining a flight with Air Seychelles to Mumbai and returning on a codeshare flight on Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi,” he said.

The return flights are operated on an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration, with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats, offering more than 3,800 seats on the route each week. – TradeArabia News Service