Coronavirus: Expats detail airport procedures while travelling to UAE

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Coronavirus, Expats, detail, airport procedures, travelling, UAE

Dubai - Rahil S, a Dubai resident who flew to Sharjah airport, had to rebook his flight to match with the Covid-19 negative certificate mandate.

By Saman Haziq

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Published: Mon 3 Aug 2020, 8:00 PM

Last updated: Tue 4 Aug 2020, 8:16 AM

Repeated change in travel protocols and flight cancellations were some of the hurdles that UAE residents stranded in India had to endure before reach back to their "second home".
Reaching UAE after being stuck in India for five months, Dubai based entrepreneur Shariq Khan has been constantly tweeting, mailing the authorities concerned, working to get travel approvals, Covid-19 negative certificate, flight bookings, to name a few.
"I got my ICA (Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship) approval end of June but that got expired as there were no flights from India to UAE then. Our GDRFA (General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs) approvals came quick and we immediately booked our flights. Getting clarity on Covid-19 negative certificate needed by airlines by a hassle, especially to time the reports with the flight," said Khan, who was in Bhopal but had flown to the UAE from New Delhi.
On landing in Dubai, Khan said the process was quite seamless. "After immigration, we were directed to the PCR test section. We filled the self-declaration form and submitted our Covid-19 negative test report from India. We were told to download the Covid-19 tracking app and were told to quarantine until we get the test results," he said.
Rahil S, a Dubai resident who flew to Sharjah airport, had to rebook his flight to match with the Covid-19 negative certificate mandate.
"Since my Covid-19 report was delayed twice, I had to cancel my flight twice before finally rebooking another one. I was based in Kanpur and my flight was from Lucknow airport, which takes about four hours by road. I had taken a Covid-19 test in a government hospital in Kanpur and since the report got delayed, I had to change my flight. I got another test done from a private pathology lab and rebooked with another airline. I also had to make sure I reached the airport with my Covid-19 certificate within 72 hours. Travelling by road during the lockdown was difficult as there was a lot of checkpoints where I had to produce the special permit," he said.
"At the airport in Lucknow, there were no trolleys and passengers had to carry their own luggage. I reached three hours ahead and we were briefed by the airlines to wear N95 masks and gloves. Once we landed in Sharjah, we were taken to a separate section where we filed health declaration form that stated that if I was a Sharjah resident, I have to quarantine for 14 days despite getting a Covid-19 negative result. However, since I am a Dubai resident I did not have to follow this rule and could move about freely once my Covid-19 test result came negative."
Rahil said all passengers - only 11 on his flight - were the asked to download the AlHosn app. "After we collected our bags, there was another counter near the exit where our bags were thoroughly checked. I took a cab and as I opened the passenger seat door, the cabbie informed me about a new rule - passengers were to sit only at the back seat as a precautionary measure," he said.
For Al Ain resident Kinjal Chitroda, it was mass tweeting and relentless calls to get clarity on travel procedures that helped her get back to the UAE. While the travel part for Kinjal was quite smooth, it was the indefinite wait and closure of Indian air space that was worrisome.
She had flown to Mumbai to attend a family function in March. "Although I have been applying for the ICA from the very beginning, my passport number was not entered correctly. It took me almost one and half month to apply for ICA. Finally, I rectified my issue online and was able to get the approval on June 13, but it expired after 21 days as there were no flights from India to the UAE at that time. I applied again and got the approval and booked ticket for July 22 to Dubai. But, Abu Dhabi had closed borders and reaching Al Ain would have another protocol to follow, I preponed and got a flight booked for Abu Dhabi."
Kinjal had only 30 passengers on her flight and the procedures at Mumbai airport and Abu Dhabi airport were seamless.
"I simply filled out a health declaration form on landing at Abu Dhabi and was told to quarantine for 14 days even if our test comes negative."
saman@khaleejtimes.com 
 


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