Pakistan issues fresh health guidelines for international travellers

Gulf Today Report

Due to the recent spike in coronavirus cases and deaths, the Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has chalked out fresh Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for international travellers.

The CAA issued an updated list of countries for categories A, B and C for which these SOPs will be valid until Dec.31, reports Dawn news.

RT-PCR tests of passengers from countries that have been placed in category A are not required.

The countries are Australia, China, Cote D'lvoire, Cuba, Fiji, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Malawi, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

According to the CAA, passengers from the countries placed in categories B and C will be required to provide negative RT-PCR test, conducted 96 hours prior to the flight, failing which the airline reserves the right to deny issuance of boarding pass.

For passengers travelling from category C countries, a negative test is mandatory before travelling to Pakistan while a second test will be done upon arrival.

Passengers who are less than 12 years of age, differently-abled or part of an international delegation, will only be required to submit a filled out health declaration form at the Pakistani airport.

Aircraft operations shall be subject to full compliance with CAA’s instructions regarding disinfection of aircraft, passenger and crew protection measures while airlines are responsible towards ensuring that these instructions are followed.

It has also been made mandatory for passengers to download the Pass Track application on their mobile phones and enter their personal details along with an image of their RT-PCR test.

As stated in the guidelines, aircraft managements are responsible for keeping an inventory of essential personal protective equipment (PPE) comprising protection units, gloves, face masks, goggles, N-95 masks etc., inside prior to take off.

All passengers and crew members are required to wear face masks during the flight.

Passengers have been advised to inform the cabin crew in case they experience symptoms of the disease.