UAE extends restrictions on travel from Pakistan

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates has extended the travel ban for all direct passenger and business flights from Pakistan until July, its Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said.

In a statement carried by state news agency WAM, the authority said it would allow travellers from South Africa and India, countries previously barred, who have received two doses of a vaccine approved by its Ministry of Health and Prevention, to enter Dubai starting from June 23.

Travellers from India, who have valid residence visas and have received two doses of an approved vaccine, will also be allowed, it announced.

The sheikhdom had barred entry, includeing transit flights, to non-resident travellers from Pakistan in May to try to contain the spread of the contagion disease.

To enter the UAE from the four countries, people must have been in another country for at least 14 days beforehand, National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority said at the time.

The UAE has approved four vaccines for protection against Covid-19 infections: Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sputnik V and Oxford-AstraZeneca. Pakistan has been inoculating the population with both Sinopharm and AstraZeneca jabs, while reserving the limited Pfizer doses it received under the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access for people with low immunity.

Meanwhile, travellers from Nigeria must only present a negative PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure for the UAE and will also undergo another PCR test on arrival in Dubai, WAM added.

The UAE also said it would suspend travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Namibia from entering the country on national and foreign flights, effective 23:59 pm on Monday, June 21, WAM reported on Saturday, citing a statement by the General Civil Aviation Authority.

The GCAA said the restrictions would also include transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights traveling to the UAE and bound for those countries.

Cargo flights between those countries and the UAE will continue, as usual, the statement added. It said the restrictions were being introduced to limit the spread of Covid-19.

The GCAA added that exemptions to its decision include: UAE nationals, their first-degree relatives, diplomatic missions, official delegations, business jets — after getting prior approvals — and golden and silver residency permit holders, in addition to those who work essential jobs.

Those who are exempted will still have to take a PCR test at the airport and enter a mandatory 10-day quarantine.