Kuwait has extended its ban of commercial flights to Bangladesh and 30 other countries until further notice since the Middle East nation termed the countries as "high risk" due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of Kuwait posted the list of the countries on its official Twitter account on Saturday.
Based on the decision of the Kuwaiti health authorities, no foreign passengers coming from the listed countries will be allowed to enter the country, it said.
الطيران المدني : بناء على تعليمات السلطات الصحية يمنع دخول الركاب الأجانب القادمين من 31 دولة الى مطار الكويت الدولي ويشمل المنع من كان متواجدا في هذه الدول خلال 14 يوما قبل موعد السفر حتى اشعار آخر . pic.twitter.com/aBlyqn406S
— الطيران المدني (@Kuwait_DGCA) August 1, 2020
Apart from Bangladesh, the other countries are India, Pakistan, Iran, China, Brazil, Colombia, Armenia, the Philippines, Syria, Spain, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, Dominican Republic, and Kosovo.
DGCA in its statement stated that it will allow entry of expats from 31 countries who are currently prohibited from entering Kuwait if he/she has spent 14 constitutive days in countries which are not banned. Expats coming directly or via transit from the listed countries will not be allowed to enter Kuwait, reports Arab News.
The ban was announced the same day that Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights. The authorities have said Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30% capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in coming months, reports Reuters.
The health ministry also advised against all non-essential travel at the present time, government spokesman Tariq al-Muzaram said on Twitter.
According to Kuwait Times, on July 30, DGCA listed Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, and Nepal as countries from which residents are not allowed to return to Kuwait when commercial flights resumed.
