Arrivals from Middle Eastern countries no longer restricted: CAASL

Passenger arrival restrictions imposed on Middle Eastern countries has been lifted from today, the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka said (CAASL).

Accordingly, the decision was taken based on the instructions received from the Ministry of Health and the National Operations Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak (NOCPCO).

The CAASL yesterday issued a statement stating that anyone with a travel history within the past 14 days to Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, had been restricted with effect from 12.00 midnight on July 1, 2021.

According to the instructions received from the Health Ministry, all arriving passengers must have a negative PCR test obtained within 96 hours prior to departure. The airline has to ensure this before boarding passengers. Antigen tests cannot be accepted as a pre-departure test for boarding while a PCR test must be presented to a government approved hospital/laboratory in the respective country with a QR Code/Bar Code. 

Airlines must satisfy themselves of the authenticity of the test reports presented by the passengers and passengers are permitted to arrive only for hotel quarantine or through the Sri Lanka Tourism Bio Bubble Route. 

The above conditions will apply until further notice, the CAASL said. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)