UAE suspends arrivals from Indonesia, Afghanistan

The UAE has announced the suspension of entry for travellers coming from Indonesia and Afghanistan.

Making the announcement on Saturday, the General Civil Aviation Authority and the National Authority for Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management (NCEMA), said the move will come into effect at 11:59 pm on July 11 (Sunday). 

This will include all journeys by national and international carriers coming into the country.

It will also impact passengers who've visited these countries over the last 14 days.

Meanwhile, transit flights to and from these countries and cargo flights will be exempt from this decision.

According to the GCAA, passengers from both countries will be allowed access into the UAE if they've spent 14 days in "other countries".

The authority added that UAE nationals and their first-degree relatives, diplomatic missions between the UAE and the two countries, official delegations, businessmen's planes - after getting prior approvals, golden and silver residency permit holders, holders of essential jobs based on the classification of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) and staff members of UAE embassies in the two countries are excluded from this decision.

These categories will be exempt provided they take preventative measures, which include a negative COVID-19 test obtained within 48 hours of departure, a mandatory 10-day quarantine and a PCR test at the airport as well as another test on the fourth and eighth days of entering the UAE.

The PCR tests must be taken at accredited laboratories and carry QR Codes.

The GCAA added that UAE citizens are prohibited from travelling to Indonesia and Afghanistan, except for the country's diplomatic missions in these countries, emergency treatment cases, official delegations, and previously authorised economic and scientific delegations.

This comes as concerned authorities work towards limiting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UAE, authorities explained.