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ISLAMABAD: More than 300 passengers from Islamabad were barred from boarding a flight to Dubai for not possessing a PCR test taken no more than six hours.
According to airport authorities, the condition for what a “rapid PCR test” has been imposed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) without prior notification.
The sudden demand for a “rapid PCR test” conducted no more than six hours ago prompted passengers of flight EA 613 to protest, after they were not issued boarding passes. Only those passengers who had earlier gotten a jab from Dubai were issued boarding passes.
Meanwhile in Karachi, 70 passengers were stopped at Jinnah International Airport from boarding a Dubai-bound flight, and were informed they need to produce a PCR test taken no more than four hours ago.
The chief operating officer at Jinnah airport said that there had been no restrictions imposed by Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and it was the UAE authorities that had imposed the conditions all of a sudden.
According to UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), travel for certain categories of passengers from Pakistan was to resume on August 5, and these passengers will be obligated to submit a prior PCR test within (48) hours from the date of departure, provided that the tests are from accredited laboratories and carry a QR Code. The notice contained no mention of a “rapid PCR test”.
CAA writes to Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Today’s events prompted the CAA’s deputy director of air transport to write to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging it to raise the matter with UAE authorities, and request them to review their decision.
The letter stated that Pakistani airports only have the rapid antigen testing facility and will not be able to provide passengers the “rapid PCR test” facility required by UAE.
The CAA deputy director requested that the transit time for such flights be increased to eight hours and that a PCR test taken 48 hours prior to travel be accepted by UAE.