Prothom Alo
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has approved the Covid-19 testing for the departing passengers at the RT-PCR labs installed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.
The approval came into effect at 12:00pm on Wednesday.
The UAE embassy in Dhaka said this in a letter sent to the Civil Aviation Authority, Bangladesh (CAAB) chairman air vice marshal M Mafidur Rahman on Wednesday noon.
The letter said the UAE embassy in Dhaka on behalf of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority is informing the CABB the Covid-19 testing at the RT-PCR labs installed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport have been approved. And it is requested to start operating flights from Bangladesh to the UAE.
The expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment ministry on 15 September cleared seven private firms to install the RT-PCR labs at Dhaka Airport.
The next day, six of these firms submitted the standard operating procedure (SOP), followed by sending the SOP to the UAE for approval.
The UEA said incoming passengers would be required undergoing the Covid-19 RT-PCR testing in August last, delaying the expatriate workers’ departure to the gulf country.
The expatriate workers had long been demanding for instalment of the RT-PCR labs at the country’s international airports. They even demonstrated to press home their demands.
On 6 September, the cabinet division instructed the authorities concerned to set up the RT-PCR labs at the three international airports including Dhaka airport.
However, no initiative has been taken to set up RT-PCR labs at the Shah Amanat International Airport, Chattogram and the Osmani International Airport, Sylhet as yet.
