UAE suspends passenger entry from three more countries

The UAE authorities on Wednesday announced a suspension on entry of passengers from Zambia, DR Congo and Uganda starting Friday, June 11.

Transit and cargo flights will continue to operate.

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Authorities noted that some groups will be exempted from these measures, including UAE citizens and their first-degree relatives and accredited diplomatic missions between the UAE and the three countries.

Exempted groups also include official delegations and businessmen (provided they obtain prior approval), holders of golden and silver residency, people with essential jobs according to the classification of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA), and crews of foreign freight and transit flights.

The required PCR testing period prior to travel has been reduced from 72 to 48 hours, and all tests must be administered by accredited laboratories that issue results carrying a QR code.

The excluded groups must follow all preventive measures, which include a 10-day quarantine, a PCR test at the airport, and PCR tests on day 4 and day 8 after entering the country.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation confirmed that travellers coming from the three countries through other countries are required to provide proof of a period of stay in those countries of no less than 14 days in order to be allowed to enter the UAE.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation called upon all travellers affected by the decision to contact the relevant airlines to reschedule their flights and ensure their safe return to their final destinations without delay.

This latest announcement comes after UAE suspended the entry of passengers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam recently.

• Dubai