Amraiz Khan
Lahore
All international passengers arriving to Pakistan will have to provide a copy of test result for COVID-19 through RT-PCR conducted during the 24 hours prior to boarding the flight.
Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has termed it mandatory with effect from Saturday, March 21, 2020. A notification in this regard has been issued on Wednesday.
The notification further added, “The test result must include the name and passport number of the passenger and the original test result shall be required at the disembarkation airport in Pakistan”.
It is worth mentioning here that with the view to stop the spread of COVID-19, International flight operations to/from all international airports except Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad Airports were suspended. These steps were taken to ensure enhancement of screening and backup infrastructural requirement by the Health and Airport Services, at other International Airports of Pakistan.
Remaining cognizant of difficulties being faced by both airline operators and our travelling public, the following has been decided by the Competent Authority: It shall be the responsibility of the airline operators to ensure that no passengers are allowed to board an aircraft without the said test result. The above requirement shall be in addition to the current requirement of the submission of completed health declaration form at the point of disembarkation in Pakistan.
All airline operators are also directed to ensure disinfection of aircraft between each disembarkation and embarkation of passengers onboard an aircraft as per internationally recognized procedures.
Furthermore, International flight operations will revert to all International Airports except Gwadar and Turbot Airports with effect from Saturday, March 21, 2020, 0001 UTC/0501 PST after equipping our International Airports with the necessary infrastructure and resources to ensure proper screening of international passengers. All airlines are requested to reveto the, originally assigned slots at respective airports.
The coronavirus cases in Pakistan on Wednesday have surged to 254 as 181 patients have been tested positive for the epidemic in Sindh, 31 in Punjab, 19 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 in Balochistan, four in Islamabad and three in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Sindh government spokesman and advisor on law and environment Barrister Murtaza Wahab confirmed the count in Sindh which is the worst-hit province.
