Proposal to begin commercial flights & quarantine in Kuwait
‘Find way to enter ‘ban country’ expats’
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 18: Deputy Director General for Kuwait International Airport Affairs, and Director of Operations and Monitoring of the T4 Terminal Performance Saleh Al-Fadaghi revealed that the executive committee for commercial restoration at the airport referred a proposal to the supreme committee to resume commercial flights by implementing the quarantine period in Kuwait and adopting a mechanism for the entry of expatriates from countries that are denied access to Kuwait, reports Aljarida daily.
In a press statement, Al-Fadaghi explained that the proposal stipulates the adoption of an institutional quarantine in Kuwait for 14 days for those coming from those countries, in accordance with the required health regulations instead of residing in a “transit” state. This will contribute to overcoming some of the obstacles that stranded expatriates face in a number of countries.
While that proposal coincides with several local demands, especially from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health for the return of a number of teachers, jurists, doctors, and nurses who are stranded abroad, its implementation requires the efforts of three main parties – the Directorate General for Civil Aviation, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Interior. The quarantine aspect will require coordination of efforts from the two ministries and large numbers of manpower in view of the great work awaited, similar to what happened in the evacuation of citizens from abroad.
Al-Fadaghi indicated that the proposal is currently under study in terms of the possibility of implementing it, stressing that there are studies in this regard, and that the supreme committee will raise all these recommendations whenever it considers the authorities’ readiness to implement them.
Ethiopia new transit:
Since the resumption of air traffic between Kuwait and the 34 banned countries has become unthinkable in the current period due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus as well as reports about the possibility of a second wave of infections, the rush of residents wishing to return to Kuwait on transit flights has increased to catch up with their jobs, their families and their lives, reports Al-Qabas daily.
With Dubai having monopoly on “business transit residents” as most of the returnees to the country opt for it as the first transit destination, another country – Ethiopia – has now entered the circle of countries from which transit flights would start, thereby becoming a new part of the competition for “business transit”, especially after the cost of a flight ticket from Dubai has risen to KD 700 for each passenger.
Hassan Al-Shami, a tour operator, said, “Ethiopia is a good option for expatriates from African countries, as well as for Egyptians and those from the Maghreb countries. It is not among the banned countries, and does not require a visa. Also, accommodation and hotel reservations are cheap and available.”
According to Al-Shami, a flight has already arrived in Kuwait from Ethiopia, indicating about “preparing for other trips, as the value of the entire package amounts to approximately KD 200, including air tickets, hotel accommodation and medical tests.