With thousands of expatriate Pakistanis unable to fly to the UAE due to the non-availability of Rapid Test facilities at airports, a Pakistan airline said it will set up mobile testing facilities at airports soon.
Shahid Mughal, regional manager for the UAE at Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), said the national carrier will set up mobile labs at the airports so that the UAE-bound passengers can take rapid tests before boarding flights .
PIA currently operates international flights to UAE from Peshawar, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Multan and Karachi.
Earlier, stranded Pakistanis looking to fly to the UAE were turned away from airports due to the non-availability of rapid tests at airports. “There is no Rapid Antigen Test facility at the Pakistani airports. Therefore, passengers are not able to board the flights. The UAE has emphasised to strictly follow SOPs (standard operating procedures), and bring passengers that meet all the guidelines and conditions,” said Sohail Nazar, UAE country manager at Airblue.
