The United Arab Emirates’ National Emergency and Crisis Management Authority (NCEMA) on August 3 announced that it would lift a ban on transit passenger traffic from several countries, including India and Pakistan, from August 5 onwards.
NCEMA clarified on Twitter that passengers travelling from countries where flights were suspended would be able to transit its airports from Thursday. However, they have to provide negative RT-PCR tests taken 72 hours before departure.
Further, the authority clarified that approval would also have to be provided. UAE departure airports would arrange separate lounges for travellers from Nepal, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Uganda, apart from India and Pakistan.
As per the NCEMA’s statement, a ban on entry to the UAE for passengers from transiting countries would also be relaxed for those who have valid residencies in UAE and are certified by Emirati authorities after being fully inoculated.
However, they would require applying online for entry permits before boarding a flight and submitting a negative RT-PCR test conducted 48 hours before departure.
Those working in medical, education and government in the Gulf Arab countries would be exempt from taking vaccines based on humanitarian cases, reported news agency PTI.
A similar rule also applies to those studying or about to complete medical treatment in the UAE mandatorily don’t have to get vaccinated.
The UAE government suspended inbound flights, especially from India, on April 24 due to the brutal second wave of Covid-19, and the date of resumption has been postponed several times.
