Emirates to launch expanded Covid cover

Emirates is hoping to reassure its passengers by offering expanded Covid cover.

Emirates will be expanding its Covid cover this December.

The carrier's new multi-risk travel insurance and Covid-19 cover attempts to provide passengers with reassurance for all manner of Covid-related travel issues and will automatically apply to all Emirates tickets bought from December 1.

The policy is valid for any destination in any class of travel and provides cover for a number of Covid-related emergencies, including for families travelling with school-age children.

In response to an ever-changing school landscape under the pandemic, the policy allows for trip cancellation or curtailment cover up to US$7,500 if the school year is extended beyond the date of departure due to Covid. This is applicable for travellers who are full-time teachers or school students.

Pre-departure, the policy provides cover of up to US$7,500 if passengers are unable to travel because they are diagnosed with Covid before departure. And the cover stretches to the same amount if the traveller fails a Covid or medical screening at the airport and is forced to abort the trip.

During the trip, the policy also includes out-of-country emergency medical expenses and emergency medical evacuation up to US$500,000 for Covid and other emergencies.

Trip curtailment of up to US$7,500 is available if you need to return home due to critical illness, including catching Covid. And US$150 per day per person will be made available for up to 14 days if a traveller tests positive for Covid and is placed into quarantine while overseas.

According to Emirates chairman and chief executive Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the carrier is seeing a “strong appetite for travel” internationally, especially as the northern hemisphere heads towards the winter holidays and seeks out warm, family-friendly destinations such as Dubai.

“Emirates was the first airline to offer complimentary global Covid-19 cover for travellers back in July,” he said. “We’re very pleased to be able to now provide this new multi-risk travel insurance and Covid-10 cover, which is another industry first.”

Dubai reopened to international leisure travel in July. In 2019, it welcomed more than 16 million visitors. It has introduced a raft of anti-Covid health and safety measures and was one of the world’s first cities to receive the ‘Safe Travels’ stamp from the World and Travel & Tourism Council.