Dubai: Holders of Dubai residence visas are allowed to travel from India to Dubai if they get approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA), along with negative Covid test results. In addition to these two requirements, airline representatives will also check for travellers’ Covid vaccination status, Khaleej Times has learned.
An Emirates Airline support executive responded to a customer on Twitter by saying travellers must have a negative PCR test result taken within 48 hours of departure and a negative rapid PCR test result taken four hours prior.
Air India’s top official in the UAE confirmed to Khaleej Times: ‘As per instructions issued by civil aviation authorities in Dubai, for passengers to disembark in Dubai, only three documents are required. They need to have a GDRFA approval, negative RT-PCR test result taken 48 hours before departure, and a rapid PCR test result from the airport.’
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Travel agencies and others have been notified of this change by Indian carrier Vistara Airlines. The airline’s source told Khaleej Times: ‘According to the regulations passed down to us from the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, the airline’s responsibility is to check that Dubai-bound passengers have a valid GDRFA approval; and not their vaccination status.’ It is unclear whether airline representatives will confirm vaccination status of passengers travelling to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah airports.
The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) announced last week that fully vaccinated residents belonging to six countries can return to the UAE so long as their vaccine doses are both taken in the UAE.
Several categories of travellers – such as healthcare workers, teachers, students, Expo 2020 workers, medical exemptions, and humanitarian cases – can travel regardless of their vaccination status.
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