Kuwait to resume commercial flights with India, Bangladesh

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Kuwait will resume commercial flights with India and Bangladesh, among other countries, while adhering to the COVID-19 measures set by a ministerial committee, a cabinet statement said on Wednesday last.

The decision also includes resuming flights with Egypt, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal, the government said.

The air link to these countries had been suspended over pandemic concerns.

The decision of resumption of flights was taken at a Cabinet meeting that underlined that flights with these countries would be subject to measures identified by Kuwait’s ministerial COVID-19 emergency committee.

Immunized non-Kuwaiti travelers will be allowed to enter the country on the condition that they have obtained two doses of vaccines approved by Kuwait — Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna — or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The health requirements for non-Kuwaitis to enter the country include two PCR tests, the first taken 72 hours before arriving in Kuwait and the second during the seven-day quarantine period after arrival.

Yousef Al-Fawzan, director-general of Kuwait’s civil aviation body, said those under 16 are exempt from vaccination to enter Kuwait, while those under 6 are exempt from the PCR examination.

Last month, the Kuwaiti Health Ministry said there were only specific laboratories abroad that were authorized to conduct PCR tests for passengers before arriving in Kuwait.

It said that any test certificate from unauthorized labs would not be accepted. (Reuters, Arab News)