Fresh SOPs issued for crew of direct flights from UK, South Africa.

RAWALPINDI -- The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has issued a fresh standard operating procedure (SOP) for the crew of direct flights from the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa and category 'C' countries. The authority has already imposed temporary restrictions on passengers coming from the UK and South Africa.

Under the new guideline, the flight crew will only be allowed to travel to Pakistan from the UK, South Africa and other countries categorised as 'C' if they hold a negative PCR test certification conducted 72 hours prior to their travel to the country.

The crew will be cleared expeditiously through relevant formalities related to arrival/departure by the authorities concerned via separate gates and counters at airport.

The crew will be exempted from testing on arrival. The exemption, however, will be applicable to those displaying no Covid-19 symptoms.

Under the fresh SOP, flight crew will directly be shifted to designated hotels on disembarkation at an airport.

They will observe a mandatory quarantine in their rooms at the hotels. Any interaction beyond authorised limits will be...