Sri Lanka bans GCC travellers

Passengers departing from the Gulf will not be able to enter the island state from 30 June to 13 July

Sri Lanka’s government has announced a two-week ban on passengers travelling from the GCC. Due to the new rules, anyone who has visited the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain or Kuwait in the last 14 days cannot enter Colombo.

However, Captain Themiya Abeywickrama, director general of Sri Lanka‘s civil aviation authority, clarified that passengers transiting through Gulf countries are permitted.

The new measures have been implemented due to the rising cases of Covid-19 in the Gulf states. Sri Lanka has also had a surge of confirmed Covid-19 cases, with daily numbers reaching 2,000 in the last week.

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Emirates Airline confirmed the restrictions in a statement: “Effective June 30 until July 13, customers will not be accepted for travel on Emirates to Colombo.”

Passengers affected by the changes are permitted to rebook flights or choose alternatives via www.emirates.com