Emirates has announced that it will be operating flights on 30 junes and 1 July with mandatory COIV19 tests. Earlier the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced the suspension of all inbound flights from Pakistan, including transit flights. The suspension will be in place till the country establishes a process of laboratory testing for Covid-19 for all departing travelers en route to the UAE.
“This is a precautionary measure to ensure the health and safety of all arrivals as of Monday, June 29, 2020,” the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority said late on Sunday. The GCAA called on all travelers affected by the decision to communicate with their airline to reschedule their flights. Four airlines from UAE offer passenger services from Pakistan including Emirates, Etihad, Flydubai, and Air Arabia.
Offloading passengers after boarding
The Earlier Emirates announced suspension of flights from Pakistan on 23 June. and its last flights from Pakistan left passngers after baording them. flight EK615 from Islamabad to Dubai and EK623 Lahore to Dubai has offloaded passengers after the check-in. Emirates flight EK614 arrived from Dubai with Boeing 777-31H(ER) registration A6-EPT. While flight EK622 arrived from Dubai with Boeing 777-31H(ER) registration A6-ENW. Passengers were checked in and at last minute they were informed that flight will not be taking passengers. Soon after passengers given their luggage and told to return. Both planes will be returning to Dubai empty without passengers. But Emirates flight from Karachi to Dubai left with passengers.
Earlier Emirates has announced that it is temporarily suspending flights to Pakistan from 04:00, on 24 June. Today Emirates will operate its last passenger flights before the suspension. This is happening after an Emirates flight on Saturday had a record number of confirmed coronavirus cases on a single flight so far. Emirates flight EK380 on Saturday, June 20, 2020, from Dubai to Hong Kong had at least 26 passengers who tested positive for COVID19.
Spread of COVID19 from Pakistan
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection said 29 of the fresh cases had been to Pakistan and returned to the city via flight EK380. Twenty-six of them came back on Saturday, and three on Sunday. All have been transferred to hospitals from quarantine centers. Residents returning from places deemed to be high risk, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, are sent to the centers for 14 days.
On 30 May 16 of 83 passengers on flight QR818 from Pakistan tested positive. This was reported by Hong Kong’s Center for Health Protection.
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