On Wednesday, the Supreme Committee for Crisis and Disaster Management in Dubai came up with additional rules for air passengers that will commence from January 31. The committee’s new protocols have three new rules that need to be followed by the passengers who arrive at Dubai airport.
The rules state that citizens of UAE will be required to do a Polymerase Chain Reaction Test to check for the novel coronavirus only on arrival in Dubai, irrespective of where they are traveling from.
Residents of UAE meanwhile, along with citizens of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, traveling to Dubai will have to do a PCR test before their travel, no matter where they are coming from. “Arrivals from some countries (based on the COVID-19 situation there) may be required to undergo an additional test when landing in Dubai,” the Committee said, as tweeted by Dubai Media Office on Wednesday. It should also be noted that the validity period of the PCR tests has been reduced from 96 to 72 hours – this means that those traveling to Dubai cannot carry a PCR test result that is more than 72 hours old.
#Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis & Disaster Management announces updates to travel protocols effective from Sunday 31 Jan.
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) January 27, 2021
• UAE citizens will be required to do a PCR test only on arrival in Dubai regardless of the country they are coming from.https://t.co/UeYHPKTdo5 pic.twitter.com/n4ZTMTozpd
Passengers from other countries and UAE arriving in Dubai airport must have a COVID-19 negative test report that is not more than 72 hours older than the date of travel. It should be noted that validity for the Polymerase Chain Reaction Test has been changed from 72 hours to 96 hours.
Further, travellers leaving Dubai via air can also take a rapid PCR or a rapid antigen test. This will be made available at the airport if the destination country requires them to have taken the test. Passengers transiting through Dubai must also comply with all the required regulations of their respective destination country.