New guidelines issued for passengers travelling from India to Dubai Airport

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

The Air India Express has announced fresh guidelines for the all the passengers flying to Dubai from India.

Effective April 22, 2021 at 00:001hrs, all passengers travelling from India to Dubai Airport must hold a valid COVID-19 test certificate that is issued within 48 hours from the time of collecting the sample.

They should also ensure that the time of sample collection – ‘Date and Time’ and time of reporting “ Result date and result time” are accurate.

The PCR test report must indicate a ‘negative’ test result, described either in Arabic or English, issued from a certified lab at the original point of destination, where the passenger is travelling from.

Moreover, it is also mandatory that the PCR test report include a QR code which is linked to the original reports, for verification by the Airline. At arrival Dubai Health Authority representative will verify the same.

Since the country is facing the second wave of coronavirus, several states have imposed restrictions on the movements and gathering of people in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19.

While many states have made a negative RT-PCR report mandatory, some may ask you to undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival.

Here we have compiled a list of guidelines for people travelling across states.

People are advised to keep an eye on the airline’s website and official sources for the latest updates.
International travellers and passengers arriving in India must self-declare themselves with the Airsuvidha portalhttps://www.newdelhiairport.in/airsuvidha/apho-registration

New Delhi:
Passengers are advised to check on the airline website and other sources for the latest updates.

The Delhi government has made the Aarogya Setu app mandatory along with random testing of passengers at airports arriving from high-risk states.

Passengers can exit the airport immediately after samples for RT-PCR have been collected, but will need to quarantine themselves for 7 days. In case their result comes positive, they can continue the home quarantine or move to a hospital.

Uttar Pradesh:
Passengers arriving in UP from Maharashtra and Kerala must carry a negative RT-PCR report conducted within 72 hours before arrival. They will also have to undergo a mandatory 14-day home quarantine unless they plan to leave the state within a week of arrival.

Assam:
People coming to Assam from Mumbai and Bangalore have to mandatorily carry a negative RT-PCR report, conducted within 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey and the test report should be verifiable using a QR code or otherwise.

Airlines would allow boarding to only those passengers at Mumbai and Bengaluru who are carrying the negative RT-PCR test report.

Any passengers from these two cities who arrive without a satisfactory RT-PCR test report will have to undergo paid COVID-19 testing at the airport and have to wait in designated locations inside airport premises at their own expense till the test result is available.

Uttarakhand:  
The Uttarakhand government has also made it obligatory to carry a negative RT-PCR report for people travelling to the state from areas reported as risky.

People arriving from Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, UP, Delhi, and Rajasthan travelling by road, air or train to Uttarakhand will have to carry a negative RT-PCR test report done 72 hours prior to arrival in the state.

Andhra Pradesh:
People arriving in the southern state will have to  undergo a thermal screening on arrival. Besides, they will be asked  to register themselves on the Spandana website (http://www.spandana.ap.gov.in) and mandatorily have the Aarogya Setu app.

Chandigarh:
People have to register themselves on COVA Punjab app if they want to travel to the UT. Apart from this, they have to undergo thermal screening and fill a health declaration form upon arrival.

Gujarat:
The Vijay Rupani-led Gujarat government has made a negative RT-PCR report mandatory for those arriving in the state. In case they don’t have one, they will be asked to undergo a Covid test on arrival and remain at the airport until test results come. Moreover, passengers travelling to Surat will need to download the SMC Covid-19 Tracker app and fill an online “Novel corona self-reporting form.

Karnataka:
A negative RT-PCR report which is not more than 72 hours old is mandatory if you are travelling to Karnataka from Chandigarh, Punjab, Kerala and Maharashtra.

Kerala:
Before travelling to Kerala, passengers will have to secure an e-pass by registering on the state’s Covid-19 portal (https://covid19jagratha.kerala.nic.in)  

They need to download the Aarogya Setu app on their phone.  Symptomatic passengers will have to take a Covid test on arrival. In case, they are travelling on business, court case or medical reasons, the above-mentioned rules are relaxed.

Maharashtra:
Those travelling to Maharashtra from the National Capital Region (NCR)/Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Goa and Rajasthan have to mandatorily carry a negative RT-PCR report not earlier than 72 hours. Those without it will have to undergo COVID-19 test at the airport at their own expense.