All tourists, UAE residents and transit passengers flying to Dubai Airport will need to carry a negative COVID-19 certificate with them. The certificate/result will only be valid if it’s issued from a government-approved testing centre. Futhermore, passengers flying in from selected countries will have to take another test at Dubai Airport. This new decision is to be implemented from 1st August, 2020.
As per the information posted on the Dubai Airports website, the Covid-19 negative test needs to be taken 96 hours before departure and that Children under the age of 12 or those who have disabilities will be excused from PCR test requirements.
Emirates confirmed that the PCR test on arrival will only be required for the following countries:
Afghanistan
Montenegro
Armenia
Nigeria
Brazil
Pakistan
Bangladesh
Philippines
Djibouti
Russian Federation
Egypt
Serbia
Eritrea
Somalia
India
South Africa
Indonesia
Sri Lanka
Iran
Sudan
Iraq
Tajikistan
Kazakhstan
Tanzania
Kyrgyzstan
Turkmenistan
Lebanon
Uzbekistan
Passengers departing from certain US airports are also mandated to take the test on arrival. These include passengers from Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), Fort Lauderdale (FLL) and Orlando (MCO), as well as passengers originating from California, Florida and Texas who are connecting to an Emirates flight from any airport worldwide, to Dubai.
All passengers who need to take the PCR test on arrival at the Dubai airport, need to self-isolate till such time that they receive their result. If found negative, they can continue on with their trip as planned. If found Covid-positive, they need to follow the rules and guidelines laid out by Dubai Health Authority.
Emirates Airlines have gone on record to clarify the directive from UAE’s National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) last week, that passengers travelling to Dubai from countries other than the ones listed above, would need to have a printed Covid-negative certificate before flying in – a digital certificate will not be accepted.
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