UAE suspends passenger entry from Indonesia, Afghanistan

A Monitor Report

Published: July 10, 2021 | 12:00 AM3 min read

UAE suspends passenger entry from Indonesia, Afghanistan

Dhaka: The UAE authorities on July 10 announced a ban on entry of travellers from Indonesia and Afghanistan, effective July 11. The entry suspension also includes travellers who have visited these countries over the last 14 days.

Transit and cargo flights to and from these countries are exempt, the latest directive.

Exempted categories will be allowed to travel from Indonesia and Afghanistan to the UAE, provided they adhere to the stipulated precautionary measures.

This includes UAE citizens and their first-degree relatives and accredited diplomatic missions between the UAE and the two countries, including employees working in the embassies of the UAE in these countries and the embassies of Indonesia and Afghanistan in the UAE.

The exempted categories also include official delegations and businessmen, subject to prior approval, as well as holders of golden and silver residence visas, employees of vital jobs as per the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship, and crews of foreign freight and transit planes.

Passengers belonging to these categories are required to provide a negative Covid-19 test result with a validity of 48 hours before departure.

Other preventive measures include a 10-day quarantine, a PCR test at the airport, as well as on the fourth and eighth days of entering the country. Only tests issued by approved laboratories bearing a QR Code will be accepted.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed that travellers coming from Indonesia and Afghanistan through other countries are required to have stayed in those countries for a period of not less than 14 days in order to be allowed to enter the country.

Citizens are not allowed to travel to Indonesia and Afghanistan, with the exception of the country's diplomatic missions in these countries, emergency treatment cases, official delegations, and previously authorised economic and scientific delegations.

The authority called on all passengers affected by the decision to follow up with their airlines to modify and schedule their flights and ensure their safe return to their final destinations without any delay or inconvenience.