All Incoming Passengers to Egypt Must Present Negative PCR Test for COVID-19: Civil Aviation Authority

Egypt has announced new air travel restrictions and health regulations amid the continuing spread of coronavirus. Under the new regulations introduced by Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), all incoming passengers, including Egyptian citizens, are required to produce a PCR analysis to confirm that they are coronavirus-free, Al Arabiya reports.

Under the new regulations, PCR tests must be conducted within 72 hours of arrival in Egypt, according to the CAA’s announcement. These measures are mandatory for all carriers and airlines that operate in Egypt and will be enforced at airports across the country starting September.

Only children under the age of six, foreign or Egyptian nationals, are exempt from this requirement and don’t need to submit a negative PCR test upon arrival to Egypt, according to a statement by Ashraf Noeir, the head of the CAA.

A similar measure was introduced earlier this month, but negative PCR tests were only required of non-Egyptian passengers, the Ministry of Civil Aviation clarified.

This comes as part of Egypt’s public health and safety regulations to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, which included a now lifted nationwide curfew.

Egypt has recorded 97,148 COVID-19 cases, 64,318 recoveries and 5,231 deaths since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Population.