Tunisia suspends Emirate Airline for banning its female citizens on board their flights

Emirates Airlines flights to and from Tunisia have been suspended two days after some female nationals of the North African country were banned from boarding their flights to Dubai on the United Arab Emirates-based carrier.

The decision was announced by the Tunisia transport ministry which said in a statement on its Facebook page that it “has decided to suspend flights of Emirates Airlines to and from Tunisia until the company can find a suitable solution to operate its flights in accordance with international laws and treaties”.

According to reports by Tunisia’s state-run news agency, Salem Zeabi, the UAE ambassador to Tunisia, was called in to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday to “provide clarification on the measure banning” Tunisian women from flying to or transiting through the Gulf state’s territory.

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Zeabi reportedly said the measure was “temporary and relating to security arrangements”.

Earlier on Sunday, Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, also cited security as the reason for the travel restriction.

“We have contacted our Tunisian brothers about security information that necessitated taking specific and circumstantial measures,” Gargash wrote on Twitter.

He also said that the UAE “appreciates and respects Tunisian women”, adding that “we should avoid attempts at interpretation and errors”.

One of the women who was banned from boarding the Emirates flight said; “When we arrived here, we found the situation really chaotic. They [Emirates Airlines staff] told me that a Tunisian woman under the age of 30, with a Tunisian passport, can’t get on the Emirates flight,” she said.

“I told them it was just a transit flight – they told me, ‘No, don’t step foot on the plane.'”

 

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