Al-Futtaim Malls reopen doors

In accordance with the announcement by the Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management, Al-Futtaim opened its malls across the UAE on April 25, 2020 with trading hours of 12-10pm. Al-Futtaim Malls in the UAE include Dubai Festival City Mall and Festival Plaza. Family entertainment, cinemas, gyms, prayer rooms, changing rooms and shisha services remain closed, as per the directive.

Also read: UAE shopping malls reopen with reduced hours

The opening comes in line with the supreme Committee of Disaster Management’s announcement of the partial easing of restrictions on movement in Dubai. Prior to opening, both malls are mandated to comply with the various guidelines and protocols and the partial opening is within strict health and safety guidelines.

Visitors to the malls must also adhere to health and safety rules while in the malls, including the requirement that they wear masks at all times, sanitise their hands prior to entering the mall, only spend the time they require at the mall and ensure a physical distance of two metres from others at all times. In addition, visitors over 60 years of age and children aged between three and 12 years old will not be permitted to enter either mall.

“We continue to abide by all directives issued by the Dubai Government and welcome this decision to partially reopen our malls. We will operate in accordance with all guidelines to ensure the health and safety of our employees, customers and tenants. Since the beginning of this pandemic, we have all been in this together, collaborating with the government to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, customers and tenants, and with this opening, health and safety continues to be our number one priority. With this in mind, we implore all visitors to fully comply with the precautionary measures in place at our malls,” said Timothy Earnest, group director, Al-Futtaim Malls.

“This is an important milestone on our journey; we are progressing together and continue to work with the government to support their campaign. We thank the UAE Government for all the initiatives they have taken so far to get us to this point, so we are able to open our doors to better serve our community as we enter the Holy Month of Ramadan,” he added.

Retailers that opened on April 25 include IKEA, Marks and Spencer and Robinsons department store. Hypermarkets, pharmacies and money exchanges will continue to trade as usual. Al-Futtaim Malls will apply standard Ramadan trading practices across the malls.

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