After our months of staying at home, a handful of international travel options are finally opening back up with conditions. Here are some important guidelines you should take note of if you’re travelling via Emirates.
Taking a PCR Test
- If Dubai is your final destination, you must take a negative COVID‑19 PCR test 96 hours before departure and bring the certificate to check‑in. This includes passengers connecting in Dubai from certain destinations.
- The test must be taken a maximum of 96 hours before departure.
- The certificate must be for a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Other test certificates including antibody tests and home testing kits are not accepted in Dubai.
- Bring an official, printed certificate in English or Arabic to check‑in – SMS and digital certificates are not accepted. Without a printed negative test certificate, you will not be accepted on the flight.
If you are connecting in Dubai:
The COVID‑19 PCR test is no longer required for all passengers – it is only mandatory for those arriving from the following countries or/and when the destination country requires it:
- Middle East and Africa: Angola, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Tanzania, Syria, Eritrea, Kenya, Jordan, Morocco, Iraq, South Sudan, Djibouti, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Iran, Lebanon, Israel
- Europe: Czech Republic, Romania, Montenegro, Malta, Georgia, Ukraine, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Moldova
- Asia: Pakistan, India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Philippine, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Nepal, Uzbekistan
- North America: USA – only passengers originating from or transiting through California, Florida or Texas
- South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile
Test exemptions:
Children under the age of 12 and passengers who have a moderate or severe disability are exempt from this test.
COVID‑19 testing laboratories:
- The UAE government has specified designated laboratories. You can either use the recommended laboratories in the list or any trusted and certified laboratories in your country of origin to get your COVID‑19 PCR test.
- If you are flying from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, you must get your certificate from one of the labs listed in the designated laboratories document to be accepted on the flight.
