QATAR airways has mandated all its Pakistan passengers to present a negative laboratory issued covid-19 test result, before they can board with the carrier. Effective July 13. This came after the above country is listed as the 11th spot of worst-affected countries by the pandemic. Pakistan has even overtaken Italy in terms of the number of coronavirus cases.
According to the airline spokesman, this mandatory pre-flight requirement will take effect by Monday, we aim to put our passengers health as a priority to ensure all customers can travel safely with us.
“To ensure all customers can travel safely with Qatar Airways, from July 13th we will require passengers departing from all our gateways in Pakistan to undertake a COVID-19 PCR test before travel.”
The airline has previously encountered incidents of passengers testing positive for the coronavirus onboard. Thus, the new rule hopes to eradicate such issues from occurring again.
Currently, Qatar Airways operates flights to the Pakistani cities of Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi.
“In the event that passengers are unable to provide the above-mentioned requirements [negative certificate and laboratory test] upon check in, they will not be accepted for boarding the flight from Pakistan. These requirements apply to both existing and new bookings.”
If a traveler receives a positive test result for the virus, they cannot board. These customers of Qatar can reschedule their flight or exchange it for a travel voucher with a 10% additional value. Additionally, customers who submit their positive test reports may request a full refund.
Source: simpleflying.com