It is not just the ME and FE airlines that mandate continuous full automation. You would perhaps think that airlines with the experience to know better would allow manual handling when conditions are appropriate.
But even British Airways mandate continuous Auto Thrust selection from take off to touch down on all types.
Manual handling is usually defined as “manual control of the aircraft Flight Path and Velocity” So the only time a BA pilot flies “manually” is every six months or so when practiced in the Sim!
The last BA pilots allowed full manual handling during normal route operations were the B747- 400 crews, where the SOP was Autopilot disconnect / Autothrottle disconnect.