UAE travel: Pakistanis still stranded due to lack of rapid PCR testing facilities-News

Pakistani nationals continue to stay in their country. As the country’s airports do not have rapid antigen testing facilities, they cannot fly to the UAE.

“Pakistan Airport does not have rapid antigen testing facilities. Therefore, passengers cannot board the aircraft. The UAE strictly complies with SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and allows passengers who meet all guidelines and conditions to enter the country,” said Sohail Nazar, Airblue UAE Country Manager.

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After flights were suspended for several months, the UAE authorities earlier this week allowed fully vaccinated residents from Pakistan and some other countries to enter the country from August 5.

Pakistan’s airports must now arrange rapid antigen testing facilities in the airport.

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“All airlines are facing this challenge because no Pakistani airport has this facility. The important thing is that the condition is that the rapid antigen test must be carried out in the airport premises and not in any other facility outside the airport. Must be completed four hours before the flight departure,” said the country manager of Airblue, Pakistan’s largest private airline, which operates flights from Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Multan to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah .

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Some laboratories in Pakistan are currently providing rapid antigen testing, but according to Nazar, it is useless because the test must be performed at the airport.

“We met with officials in the UAE and they are very clear about this. The local authorities need to establish a rapid antigen testing facility at Pakistani airports. I hope this issue can be resolved within a few days,” he added.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) UAE regional manager Shahid Mughal said that the national airline will set up a mobile laboratory at the airport, where passengers travelling to the UAE can undergo rapid antigen testing.

PIA currently operates international flights to the UAE from Peshawar, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Multan and Karachi.

Malik Tauqeer, a passenger at Lahore International Airport, confirmed that passengers cannot board flights to the UAE due to the lack of rapid antigen testing facilities at the airport.

“Please do not book a flight and spend money for PCR or any other testing unless they clearly have a (rapid antigen test) facility at the airport. Passengers waiting outside (at the airport) are from far away, but now they can’t fly to the UAE,” Tauqeer said .

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com