Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority has issued new SOPs for inbound flights, including mandatory coronavirus tests for passengers from some countries.

The requirement of a COVID-19 PCR test for incoming passengers comes into effect from October 5. The CAA has made divided countries into Category A and Category B countries.

Category A countries are Australia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Cuba, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Rwanda, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uganda and Uruguay and are exempt from the requirement.

All other countries, including the US, UK, and UAE, are required to provide negative PCR tests before boarding. The tests can be a maximum of 96 hours old.