Closure of airport affects many; More stringent measures expected

Monday, December 21, 2020

The decision to suspend commercial operation at Kuwait International airport from Monday 11 pm to January 1st affected a large number of Indians. Thousands of Indian had booked their flights to India in coming days, which all stands cancelled. As the direct entry from India is not yet open, thousands of Indians are now on the transit at Dubai and other middle east countries. Many are about to finish their 14 days stay in Dubai and plan their trip to Kuwait in the coming days. The suspension of Kuwait airport will force them to extend their stay in Dubai, which will be an additional financial burden to many.

The decision to close down airport till January 1st may extend depending on the health situation in Europe. The DGCA in its official circular mentioned that the decision would be reviewed based on the virus status update.

According to sources, a large number of people had arrived in Kuwait from UK and European Union in the past few days. The Ministry of Health called on all those citizen and residents came from the European Union and UK within last the days to perform a new PCR test on the fifth and tenth day from their arrival date at Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital between 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. They must bring along documents indicating their arrival at the mentioned dates. If the highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus is present in this region, Kuwait may take more stringent measures to counter its spread.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Health Sheikh Dr Basil Al-Sabah said that the The decision to close the airport came to avoid major risks that Kuwait may face.

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