Pakistan, Travel Curbs

With the second wave of the pandemic hitting Pakistan in November, the country imposed temporary curbs for a week on in-bound passengers from the UK after the emergence of a new coronavirus strain on December 21^st 2020. Pakistan has also then extended the ban on flights from the UK for another week over fears of the new variant of the coronavirus which was reportedly spreading at a much faster rate. However, The Pak­is­tan Civil Aviation Autho­rity (PCAA) on Friday extended travel restrictions on category-C countries — South Africa, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Ireland, Portugal and the Netherlands — till February 28, though travelers from these countries can still come to Pakistan if allowed by the National Command and Operation Centre. The restrictions on travelers from C-category countries have been extended following the increasing number of cases reported there during the second wave of Covid-19. The PCAA also reduced the PCR test requirement for the countries categorized as B and C from 96 to 72 hours. The travel-related standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the PCAA in December and January have also been extended till Feb 28.

The authority has placed 24 countries in category-A and six in category-C. The PCAA said the international travelers from the countries placed in category-A did not require Covid-19 PCR test before entry into Pakistan. The travelers from category-B countries are required to undergo Covid-19 test before commencement of travel to Pakistan (maximum 72 hours old). However, the travelers from C-category countries are restricted and only allowed as per the guidelines provided by the NCOC. All travelers need to download Pass Track App to speed up arrival process in Pakistan and spend less time with immigration and public health officers. Information has to be submitted on the app within 48 hours before arriving in Pakistan. The app helps in providing mandatory information that’s required for entry into Pakistan while reducing wait time and points of contact at the airport and more importantly it will provide the Government of Pakistan with voluntary updates and the development of any symptoms during the 14 days after arriving in Pakistan.