Air Arabia
Image Credit: Air Arabia

Sharjah: Passengers arriving at Sharjah International Airport from seven countries are now required to produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test result, not older than 72 hours prior to departure, Air Arabia has said.

“Passengers arriving at Sharjah International Airport from the below-listed countries will be required to show negative PCR test certificate issued by an authorised lab (72 hours) before boarding flights,” the airline said in new guidelines issued for passengers flying back to the UAE.

India, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sudan and Nepal are the countries listed for this requirement.

When contacted, the airline confirmed the new requirement to Gulf News.

“In general, the UAE national carriers follow the rules of the government. At the moment, we have confirmation on these procedures,” a public relations executive who verified the information with the airline said.

Emirates adds two more countries to PCR list

Meanwhile, Emirates has added two more countries from where passengers should submit a negative PCR test not older than 96 hours prior to their flight to Dubai. Nigeria and Sudan have been added to the list of ten other destinations that came under the new regulation, as per an update on the airline’s website.

These countries are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Tanzania and the United States - Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO), including passengers originating from California, Florida and Texas connecting to an Emirates flight from any airport worldwide to Dubai, the airline posted on its website.