New Delhi, August 19: IndiGo will not be flying planes to United Arab Emirates for a week reportedly after a ban imposed on the airline. According to reports, UAE has banned IndiGo from operating flights after many of its flyers skipped the mandatory RT-PCR test at the departure airport, reports said. The airline, however, said UAE-bound flights are cancelled due to "operational issues". IndiGo Airline Employee Dies in Accident at Patna Airport.

UAE has mandated that each passenger from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Nigeria and Uganda must undergo a RT-PCR test 48 hours before departure and an another rapid-PCR test at the airport a few hours before the flight. IndiGo flights reportedly carried passengers who did not complete COVID-19 test at the departure airport in India. Hence, UAE banned the airline from operating flights for a week till August 24.

The ban came into effect from August 17. IndiGo in a statement said that all flights to the gulf country have been cancelled due to operational issues. "Due to operational issues, all IndiGo flights to UAE stand cancelled till August 24, 2021," the airline said in a statement. "We have informed all our passengers and will support them with refunds or accommodation in other flights once we resume operations," the statement further said.

UAE had lifted a ban on transit flights including from India on August 5. The Gulf country had banned the entry of passengers from many South Asian and African states this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. It allowed the entry of passengers from these countries with condition that they will have to present a negative PCR coronavirus test prior to departure.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2021 01:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).