Shock, dismay and anger as passengers denied boarding
Passengers from seven countries were stranded at airports after a midnight circular by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation banned flights from Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Syria, for one week.
It was utter chaos as passengers were not only turned back from the airport but several thousands had completed one part of their transit journey and were stranded in another destination. Flights to Kuwait from the above countries were denied entry and asked to land in close by destinations, as pandemonium struck from the midnight circular about which only a few were aware.
The enormous amount of distress and loss had people panicking as the circular, which said was effective for a week would be in all probability be extended if the situation persisted.
Nationals from these seven destinations comprise the bulk of the workers in the country and businesses stand to be affected if they are not able to return in time. Families also are divided as a result of the sudden announcement and the inconveniences caused is immeasurable.
The once flourishing travel industry in Kuwait is now at a stand still with nobody willing to take a chance lest they be caught stranded in no-man’s-land.
The midnight circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation stated that anybody who visited India, Sri Lanka, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Philippines, Syria and Egypt in the past 14 days would also no longer be able to travel to Kuwait, even on flights that are not in the banned list. The only exception to this rule are Kuwaitis who wished to return to their country and would then be quarantined.
The new flight ban was in addition to the earlier suspension of flights to and from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.
The flight ban follows an earlier decision by the DGCA requiring passengers from 10 countries to have coronavirus clearance certificate. However, this rule could not be implemented for technical reasons and was suspended on Thursday evening, to the relief of hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Kuwait is battling to contain the coronavirus COVID-19 infection, after 61 cases, the highest number in the Gulf,were reported over a 10-day period in the country. The government has initiated a number of measures as part of WHO protocol and the country has been gripped by coronavirus anxiety.
Once over-flowing malls and traffic jams are now a thing of the past, as empty malls and streets are a very discernable sight in Kuwait. Schools have been shut for two weeks and all activities including events and exhibitions cancelled until the end of March.Hotel rooms are empty and staff have been asked to go on leave. Nobody is willing to take a chance for fear of catching the virus.
The Kuwait government has urged citizens and residents to conduct their transactions online as much as possible, and to avoid gatherings, as well as desist from spreading rumors.
As the virus continues to cause alarm in the world with new deaths and infections reported across the region, countries in the Middle East are taking a raft of measures to control the spread of the highly contagious disease. More than 6,000 cases have been confirmed in the region, with more than 5,823 in Iran itself.
Nearly a 100 countries across the world are now infected with the virus and the tally of infected persons has crossed 100,000 with about 3,500 deaths. More and more countries are closing their border and trying to contain the spread of the virus with a slew of measures. Saudi Arabia has also limited arrivals from UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait in an apparent bid to curtail the spread of the virus.
