COVID-19: Quarantine for 14 days in permissible country before flying home, Kuwait residents told

Kuwait City: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) announced that passengers travelling from one of the 31 “high-risk” countries are barred from entering Kuwait unless they quarantine in a non-prohibited country for 14 days.

In addition, passengers arriving in Kuwait are required to provide a health certificate, from one of the approved medical centres, proving they tested negative for COVID-19. The test should be done up to 72 hours prior to departure.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation also pointed out that travelling to Kuwait from the banned countries via transit is prohibited.

The decision does not affect Kuwaiti citizens.

State media has mentioned that the banning of flights does not affect nationality, rather it is based on if a person travelled or visited a “high-risk” country.

On Saturday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that passengers arriving from 31 “high-risk” countries are barred from entering Kuwait. The announcement was made hours after the Kuwait International Airport reopened at a 30 per cent capacity. Following the announcement, 10,000 air tickets were cancelled.

Some of the “high-risk” countries include India, Pakistan, Egypt, Philippines, Iran, China, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Peru, Moldova, Singapore, Hong Kong, Panama, Chile and the Dominican Republic.

Kuwait airport resumed commercial flights on August 1 after halting travel for almost five months.