Tunisia suspends Emirates flights over ban on female travelers

Tunisia has suspended flights by Emirates airlines after a public outcry over security measures in the United Arab Emirates targeting women specifically from the North African country.

The transport ministry said it has suspended the flights to Tunis until the airline finds an appropriate solution to operate flight “in accordance with international law and agreements”.

Emirates will stop services between Tunis and Dubai, as instructed by the Tunisian authorities, with effect from 25 December 2017

بناء على تعليمات السلطات التونسية، وابتداء من اليوم الاثنين، تعلق طيران الامارات رحلاتها من تونس واليها، وحتى اشعار آخر

— Emirates airline (@emirates) December 24, 2017

The dispute began on Friday when Emirates prohibited female Tunisian passengers from boarding flights to the UAE without giving any reason.

Speaking on Tuesday, Tunisian presidential spokeswoman Saida Garrach said the UAE had "voiced fear that an attack will probably be committed by Tunisian women or women with Tunisian passports."

The travel ban triggered confusion and anger at the Tunis airport and media.

Emirates employees were first informed of the news the night before in an internal company email that read: "Any passengers holding TUN as final destination are not to be accepted for travel at point of origin."

A number of Tunisian women said their travels had been delayed and some had been forced to undergo additional examination of their visas.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE foreign minister, said on Twitter: “We contacted our Tunisian brothers about security information that necessitated taking specific procedures.

تواصلنا مع الأخوة في تونس حول معلومة أمنية فرضت إجراءات محددة وظرفية، وفِي الإمارات حيث نفخر بتجربتنا في تمكين المرأة نقدر المرأة التونسية ونحترمها ونثمن تجربتها الرائدة، ونعتبرها صِمَام الأمان، ولنتفادى معا محاولات التأويل والمغالطة.

— د. أنور قرقاش (@AnwarGargash) December 24, 2017

“We should avoid misleading attempts ... We highly value Tunisian women and respect them,” he added, without elaborating.

On Friday, Tunisia asked the UAE ambassador for clarification, the envoy saying the decision was for only a short period and the restrictions had been lifted.

Despite the clarification, Tunisian rights groups condemned the measures as “discriminatory and racist”.