Pakistanis will be able to enter UAE from July 7

ABU DHABI: Passengers travelling from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal or Sri Lanka won't be able to enter the UAE until July 7, an update on the Etihad Airways website said. The airline said the date may be extended. A search on the website for flights to the UAE from Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore throws up a message, informing passengers about the July 7 date. Those who have visited these countries over the past 14 days, too, won't be able to enter the UAE, the Abu Dhabi-based airline said.

"The only exemptions to this are if you are a diplomat or a UAE national or a Golden Visa holder. Your PCR test in this case must be taken a maximum of 48 hours before your flight departure," the carrier said.

Flights will continue to show as available for the above destinations in the flight search as exempted passengers are still allowed to fly to the UAE. As at 5pm on Monday, June 14, Dubai-based Emirates had not updated a date extension. Its website maintained that the carriage of passengers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will remain suspended “until further notice”.

The UAE had first announced the suspension of entry for travellers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka on national and foreign flights from 11:59pm on May 12. Cargo flights remain unaffected.

Last week, Emirates had said that the suspension of passenger flights from India to the UAE will continue until July 6. Overall, passenger entry from 10 countries are currently suspended: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, South Africa, Zambia, DR Congo and Uganda. The suspensions have left several expats stranded in their home countries.