Kuwait to resume flights with six countries including India, Pakistan and Egypt

Kuwait is resuming direct commercial flights with India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Nepal and Sri Lanka following months of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The decision came following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Flights from the six countries will be subject to measures identified by Kuwait’s ministerial coronavirus emergency committee, the official Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported.

While no official date has been confirmed for the resumption, local media said flights will restart from Sunday, August 22.

The Council of Ministers has determined

To initiate direct commercial flights to (India, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) while adhering to the regulations set by Kuwait’s Ministerial Coronavirus Emergency Committee.#CGCKuwait pic.twitter.com/FEailR8v9S

— مركز التواصل الحكومي (@CGCKuwait) August 18, 2021

Nationals from the six countries account for a major portion of the expat population in Kuwait. According to local media reports, roughly 2.3 million out of the 3.3 million expats in Kuwait are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Sri Lanka or Nepal.

The latest decision comes following a decline in the number of new Covid-19 cases in Kuwait.

It reported 237 new cases on Wednesday, with two deaths and 642 recoveries. Since Saturday, the number of new daily cases has remained under 400.

Meanwhile the cabinet also announced that residents who have received Chinese or Russian vaccinations outside the country including Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik V – which are not approved in Kuwait, can now enter the country provided they take one additional dose of one of the four vaccines approved by Kuwait – Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

شروط وضوابط دخول المسافرين إلى دولة الكويت#CGCKuwait pic.twitter.com/88Aw6kousN

— مركز التواصل الحكومي (@CGCKuwait) August 18, 2021