DOHA — Qatar Airways said all passengers from Pakistan must show they were tested for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their flight departure and present a negative result. The mandatory pre-flight requirement will take effect Monday, a Qatar Airways spokesperson said in an email on Saturday. Qatar Airways currently operates services to the Pakistani cities of Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. Pakistan is Asia's second most-infected nation, and travelers from the nation recently tested positive in South Korea and Hong Kong. The nation has 246,351 cases with about 5,100 deaths, although the number of new daily cases and tests have dropped in the past few weeks. "To ensure all customers can travel safely with Qatar Airways, from July 13 we will require passengers departing from all our gateways in Pakistan to undertake a COVID-19 PCR test before travel," Qatar Airways said. In June, South Korea limited the entry of foreigners including those from Pakistan and Bangladesh, and placed a temporary ban on non-scheduled flights from countries where the virus is spreading rapidly. Pakistan's state-owned carrier, which resumed flights to the UAE on July 9, also asked passengers to produce negative results from tests done 48 hours before travel. — Agencies
