Emirates will stop all flights as of Wednesday March 25, following a UAE-wide ban on all passenger flights into and out of the country, and passenger transits though the nation's airports, including the Dubai mega-hub.

The lockdown, announced this morning by the UAE's Civil Aviation Authority, will take effect from 11.59pm on March 25 (local time) and be in place for two weeks, with exemptions for emergency evacuation flights and cargo services.

"As per the UAE Government's directive, Emirates will temporarily suspend all passenger services for two weeks starting from 25 March 2020," the airline said in a statement issued this afternoon. "These measures are in place to contain the spread of COVID-19, and we hope to resume services as soon as possible."

Emirates had previously planned to strip its globe-spanning network down to barely a dozen countries this week, although it reversed an overnight ruling to halt all passenger flights within the next three days.

Prior to the stringent UAE restrictions being announced, the Gulf colossus said it would continue passenger flights to Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK and the USA.

That represented a staggering contraction of Emirates' worldview compared to December 2019, which saw the airline making over 3,500 flights per week to 159 destinations, and underscores the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has sent passenger numbers plummeting at the same time as countries put up their borders and advise people not to travel.

At the time of writing Emirates has not published a revised schedule beyond that which Executive Traveller shared yesterday (see below), and suggests that as "the situation remains dynamic," passengers should check the emirates.com website.

No refund for Emirates flight cancellations

Emirates advises that passengers affected by these cancellations, and holding a ticket issued on or before 31st March, can

request to be rebooked onto alternative flights "within the ticket validity without fee", although it notes an "applicable fare difference, if any, may apply"

request a travel voucher for the value of the ticket, with a validity of 12 months from the date of issue, to be used as credit against any future Emirates booking There's currently no option for having the cost of your ticket refunded instead of being issued with credit against a future flight. "Affected customers should contact their travel agent or Emirates office to request a travel voucher," Emirates advises. "Customers who booked directly with Emirates can visit the Travel Voucher webpage and add 'Refund request due to Coronavirus' in the comments section. Customers who booked with a travel agent must contact them for a rebooking and/or travel vouchers."

PREVIOUS [March 22, 2020] Emirates has slashed over a hundred destinations from its extensive international network, in a move that's also expected to see the bulk of its 115-strong Airbus A380 fleet grounded as the coronavirus undermines global travel demand.

As both the world's largest international airline and the largest operator of the double-decker Airbus A380, the Gulf colossus has proven especially vulnerable to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, as passenger numbers plummet and an increasing number of countries lock down their borders.

In Australia and New Zealand, Emirates is suspending flights to Melbourne (both direct and via Singapore), Brisbane, Adelaide and Auckland (both direct and via Bali), as well as the Dubai-Sydney-Christchurch service.

All flights to New York will vanish by March 24, followed by Paris, Edinburgh, Geneva, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Rio de Janeiro and San Francisco.

Here is the full list, accurate as of March 22, 2020:

Abidjan (via Accra): From 21 March – 20 May

Abuja: From 23 March – until further notice

Accra: From 21 March – 20 May

Adelaide: From 23 March – 20 May

Ahmedabad: From 23 March – 28 March

Algiers: From 18 March – 20 May

Amman: From 17 March – 30 April

Athens: From 23 March- 30 June

Auckland (via Bali): From 29 March – 30 June

Auckland: From 29 March – 30 June

Baghdad: From 17 March – 30 April

Bali: From 29 March – 30 June

Bangkok–Hong Kong: From 9 March – 20 May

Barcelona: From 20 March - 20 May

Basra: From 17 March – 30 April

Beirut: From 17 March – 30 April

Bengaluru: From 23 March – 28 March

Bologna: From 13 March – 20 May

Brisbane: From 29 March – 30 June

Brussels: From 26 March – 30 June

Budapest: From 13 March – 20 May

Buenos Aires (via Rio de Janeiro): From 25 March – 20 May

Cairo: From 19 March – 30 June

Casablanca: From 16 March – 30 June

Cebu/Clark: From 29 March- 30 June

Chennai: From 22 March – 28 March

Chicago: From 27 March – 30 June

Christchurch (via Sydney): From 29 March – 30 June

Cochin: From 23 March – 28 March

Colombo (via Male): From 23 March – 30 June

Conakry: From 22 March – 19 May

Dakar (via Conakry): From 22 March – 19 May

Dammam: From 09 March – 30 April

Delhi: From 22 March – 28 March

Dhaka: From 22 March – 31 March

Dubai–Colombo: From 19 March – 25 March.

Dubai–Hanoi: From 18 March – 22 March.

Dubai–Ho Chi Minh: From 18 March – 24 March.

Dubai–Mauritius: From 20 March – 2 April.

Durban: From 24 March – 20 May

Dusseldorf: From 23 March – until further notice

Edinburgh: From 25 March – 30 June

Fort Lauderdale: From 13 March – 30 June

Frankfurt: From 23 March – until further notice

Geneva: From 23 March – 30 June

Guangzhou: From 05 February – 30 April

Hamburg: From 23 March – until further notice

Hanoi: From 23 March – 30 June

Harare (via Lusaka): From 20 March – 20 May

Ho Chi Minh: From 25 March – 30 June

Houston: From 27 March – 30 June

Hyderabad: From 22 March – 28 March

Islamabad: From 22 March – until further notice

Istanbul (IST): From 17 March – 20 May

Istanbul (SAW): From 17 March – 20 May

Jeddah: From 16 March – 30 April

Kabul: From 26 March – 30 June

Karachi: From 22 March – until further notice

Khartoum: From 18 March – 20 May

Kolkata: From 23 March – 28 March

Kuwait City: From 14 March – 30 April

Lagos: From 23 March – until further notice

Larnaca: From 17 March – 20 May

Lahore: From 22 March – until further notice

Lisbon: From 19 March – 30 April

London Stansted: From 25 March – 30 June

Luanda: From 22 March – 20 May

Lusaka: From 20 March – 20 May

Lyon: From 23 March – until further notice

Madrid: From 18 March – 20 May

Malta (via Larnaca): From 17 March – 20 May

Medina: From 05 March – 30 April

Melbourne (via Singapore): From 23 March – 20 May

Melbourne: From 29 March – 30 June

Mexico City (via Barcelona): From 20 March – 20 May

Milan: From 15 March – 20 May

Moscow: From 30 March – 30 June

Mumbai: From 22 March – 28 March

Munich: From 23 March – until further notice

Muscat: From 22 March – 05 April

New York EWR (via Athens): From 13 March – 20 May

New York EWR: From 24 March – until further notice

New York JFK (via Milan): From 11 March – 20 May

New York JFK: From 24 March – until further notice

Newcastle: From 25 March – 30 June

Nice: From 23 March – until further notice

Orlando: From 24 March – 30 June

Osaka: From 26 March – 30 June

Oslo: From 28 March – 30 June

Paris: From 23 March – until further notice

Peshawar: From 22 March – until further notice

Phnom Penh (via Bangkok): From 29 March – 30 June

Phuket: From 29 March – 30 June

Porto: From 17 March – 20 May

Prague: From 25 March – 30 June

Rio de Janeiro: From 25 March – 20 May

Riyadh: From 16 March – 30 April

Rome: From 15 March – 20 May

Saint Petersburg: From 30 March – 30 June

San Francisco: From 29 March – 30 June

Santiago (via Rio de Janeiro): From 25 March – 20 May

Shanghai: From 05 February – 30 April

Sialkot: From 22 March – until further notice

Stockholm: From 26 March – 30 June

Taipei: From 16 March – 20 May

Tehran: From 26 February – 30 April

Trivandrum: From 22 March – 28 March

Tunis: From 18 March – 20 May

Venice: From 12 March – 20 May

Vienna: From 23 March – 30 June

Warsaw: From 15 March – 20 May

Emirates advises that passengers affected by these cancellations, and holding a ticket issued on or before 31st March, can

request to be rebooked onto alternative flights " within the ticket validity without fee", although it notes an "applicable fare difference, if any, may apply"

request a travel voucher for the value of the ticket, with a validity of 12 months from the date of issue, to be used as credit against any future Emirates booking

"Affected customers should contact their travel agent or Emirates office to request a travel voucher," Emirates advises. "Customers who booked directly with Emirates can visit the Travel Voucher webpage and add 'Refund request due to Coronavirus' in the comments section. Customers who booked with a travel agent must contact them for a rebooking and/or travel vouchers."

The UAE has also closed its own borders to anybody who is not a citizen or a resident, suspended its "visa on arrival" program and even placed a temporary travel ban which prevents citizens from leaving the UAE as part of the continued effort to minimise the exposure and spread of coronavirus.

However, at the time of writing, passengers are still allowed to transit through Emirates' Dubai mega-hub.