COVID-19 testing ‘mandatory’ for Kuwait passengers
The COVID-19 test, known as PCR, will be mandatory for all passengers arriving in Kuwait, starting next month, Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas has reported, citing an official source.
The Kuwait International Airport is due to resume commercial flights on August 1, more than four months after the country halted air travel as part of measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.
“The PCR has become mandatory for all arrivals at the Kuwait airport, whether they are citizens or foreign residents starting from early August even if they stayed for one day outside the country,” the source added after a meeting of an official committee in charge of restart of commercial flights.
Foreign residents, stranded by the suspension of air travel, will be allowed to return to Kuwait as long as they have valid residency permits and jobs in the country, according to the source.
Conducting the PCR testing for passengers leaving Kuwait will depend on their destinations and whether they require it or not. In such a case, the departing passenger will bear the cost of the test that will be done in a designated laboratory at the airport, the paper quoted the source as saying.
Earlier this month, the Kuwaiti government endorsed a phased plan to resume commercial flights to and from the country on August 1, starting with 30 per cent capacity.
