NCOC decision lands thousands of Pakistani expats stuck at airports

ISLAMABAD: The sudden decision taken by the Aviation Division and National Command Operations Centre of closing down all flights coming from Doha, Qatar, and United Arab Emirates has landed many Pakistani overseas stuck at various airports while thousands who had bought tickets and granted holidays are also suffering due to the decision.

The move looks to be a tit-for-tat decision against the decision of the UAE which on June 26 extended the ban on flights from Pakistan and 13 other countries till July 21, Gulf News reported, citing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued in this regard.

Dubai had said on June 19 that an entry ban on those who in the past 14 days had visited India, Nigeria and South Africa would ease from June 23.

Interestingly, the UAE government decided to ease out restrictions on other countries including India where Covid-19 conditions are worse. While Pakistani model of handling Covid-19 disease has been termed as a model for the world, Indian handling of Covid-19 has been termed worse.

Under the changes, the entry would be permitted to UAE residents in India who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, anyone in South Africa who was fully vaccinated and those in Nigeria who had tested negative for coronavirus in the past 48 hours.

This step may further impact our relations with our friendly countries like UAE and Qatar. Farhan Ahmed, a Pakistani expat living in Chicago, USA, told Pakistan Today that he had bought tickets to spend holidays in Pakistan but the sudden decision has badly impacted his decision.

“You know, we stay here and wait for traveling to our homes once in a while. Now I have no clue what to do as no other flights are available while my tickets are not being refunded,” he said.

Several texts and phone calls made to officials of NCOC and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were not responded. However, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri told media separately that the officials from Pakistan and the UAE were having talks over the travel ban issue.

Chaudhri hoped that UAE would revoke the travel advisory as the coronavirus situation in the country is better than several other states.

"Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi recently discussed the issue with his UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed," the spokesperson said.

Civil Aviation Authority Spokesperson Saad Ayub said according to the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority's notification, flights from Pakistan, India, South Africa, Nigeria, and several other countries were banned July 21 — and after that, a decision will be taken on lifting or maintaining the ban.

"Flights from Pakistan were banned by the UAE from May 12," the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources told this scribe that UAE's decision to allow visa holders from India and other countries where the Covid-19 situation was worse than Pakistan — and denying Pakistanis the same rights has raised concerns.

Meanwhile, later in the day, the Turkish authorities issued a revised policy regarding the mandatory quarantine requirement on passengers arriving in Turkey.

As per the new policy, which will go into effect on July 1, the quarantine period for passengers arriving from Pakistan and Afghanistan has been reduced from 14 to 10 days, a statement from the FO said.