Kuwait airport gearing up to receive domestic helps from Philippines, India

KUWAIT CITY: The Kuwait International Airport authorities are preparing to receive the first flights that will bring in domestic workers from countries whose citizens were barred from entering Kuwait upon instructions of the health authorities as Kuwait prepared to limit the Covid- 19 infections and prevent the spread of the pandemic.

A reliable source at the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says the Kuwait International Airport is making preparations to receive the first flights of returning domestic workers from the banned 34 countries on Monday, Dec 14, 2020. The DGCA said the first flights will bring workers from India and the Philippines, after accrediting medical laboratories abroad in coordination with the ministries of Foreign Affairs and the health and the concerned authorities in the respective countries.

The same source said the total number of those registered on the electronic platform “in safety”, which is concerned with the return of domestic workers was to about 1,000 reservations covering all countries, although the number of those registering on the platform is increasing amid clear interaction by citizens. The source said on Monday four flights will arrive from India (Madras and Delhi) airports two flights each operated by the Kuwait Airways and Al-Jazeera Airways.

Arriving

Tuesday, Dec 15, at dawn the first flights from the Philippines will touch down at the Kuwait International Airport. The number of those arriving every day will not exceed 600 domestic workers. However, the source stated there are arrangements currently underway that have not been finally approved for the return of workers from Bangladesh, indicating that the proposed date for the return of the first flights coming from Dhaka will be on Dec 24, 2020.

The source explained that the National Aviation Services Company (NAS), which is concerned with the return of domestic workers, has coordinated the housing of domestic workers with several hotels, hotel apartments and other furnished apartments in about 9 districts of Kuwait – Bneid Al-Qar, Kuwait City, Salmiya, Fintas, Farwaniya, Al-Riqqa, Hawalli, Mahboula and Abu Halifa.

It is worth mentioning here the government of Kuwait based on instructions of the Kuwaiti health authorities due to the situation and repercussions caused by the spread of the corona virus regarding ‘high-risk’ countries had regulated the entry of citizens from India, Iran, China, Brazil, Columbia, Armenia, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Syria, Spain, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama, Peru, Serbia, Montenegro, Dominican Republic and Kosovo, from entering the country. Earlier it was reported that the National Aviation Services (NAS) had led the development of BelSalamah.com, a new website to facilitate the return of Article 20 workers from the 34 high-risk countries to Kuwait for the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) in Kuwait.

NAS said the complete package for bringing back each Article 20 worker is only KD 270 including accommodation for 14 days as per the regulations of the Ministry of Health, meals and the three PCR tests.