Covid Test Required
 

It appears that all passengers transiting thru the UAE will now be required to submit a covid test prior to departure? I am assuming this included etihad now as well and not only emirates.

this is so problematic because it is impossible to find a testing center in most countries that have such a low turnaround time.

Emirates News Agency - UAE travel advisory update: COVID-19 PCR tests mandatory for all inbound passengers

In the UK test results take between 1 and 5 days to come through.. So that will make it difficult for anyone travelling on Emirates or Etihad. Plus, I dont think NHS allow the tests to be done for this purpose. So, it would be private tests if travelling from the UK which mostly quote 3 days turnaround, which is cutting it fine.

If you look on the Etihad home page , the only company you can get a test through is Pure Health . An ordinary NHS ( UK ) , certificate is not valid . The nearest clinic is over 100 miles from me , and there is no mention of cost .....I can fully understand why Etihad and Emirates have put this condition in place , but I don't think they realise the problems travellers are going to have getting a test ..... Hopefully as countries open , there will be a facility at most airports worldwide , where a simple test could be performed , before you fly

does anyone know whether this addition of testing is grounds for cancelation? i don’t want to go thru the stress of having to take a test that i know i won’t be able to get results back in time so i would just like to get my cancel and get my refund ....

Etihad have stated that re-bookings are available at No extra cost ( nothing clear about cancelations or refunds ) ... as I said before , there apears worldwide , many passengers are traveling to and from countries ( re- patriation flights ) that are not tested before they fly , therefore imfecting other passengers mid flight and upon arrival in their home countries .... To many here the certificate may seam harsh or overdone , but I'm all for it , as long as they sort out venues for testing closer to home

I did a dummy booking on the PureHealth site (https://screening.purehealth.ae/application) and cost is AED542. They are directly connected to ICA and are aware of Etihad timescales so will turn the tests around within 48 hours, Pure Health FAQs state this. They stipulate 96 hours max before flying.

There are test sites near MAN (Warrington/Liverpool) and LHR where EY fly from so you may have to travel and stay near the airport to ensure you get to fly! Not ideal.

I too had a look at this. The Pure Health registration site is set up as though one is entering the UAE, not transiting. In that one has to say which visa you hold or are applying for. Furthermore on the registration page it asks for the your National ID No and expiration date, as I'm an UK citizen I do not have a national ID. I inputted my driving license No and associated expiration date and said VoA, which did take me too the final registration page. I hasten to add I don't know if what I did was correct and therefore it does need clarification however, I could see no way of asking a question on the PH site.

The final cost was £147.

I did go back to the Etihad page to see what they said about transiting? The language used was wooley and vague to say the least.

This is the future of air travel. If you can invest in a lab that can do 24 hour turnaround covid tests, do it. Incidentally, the tests offered here in the UAE typically turn around in less than 48 hours. My test results came back in 24 hours.

This is ridiculous and completely unattainable given the 96-hour window for travel. Most labs in the world right now are NOT giving customers their results and documentation in less than 72-96 hours. Here in Nepal, once we have our COVID results, they are good for 5 days of travel. This is a crazy burden to place on "customers" who can take their business elsewhere where the hassles are far less. I completely understand the need for a COVID test before flying, I do NOT understand the 96-hour window, however.

So I assume that if you have a RT itinerary ( e.g. EU-AUH-Asia-AUH-EU), you need to do it twice - for both outbound and inbound?

Good point , as usual nothing is clear .......

yes, that's right

Another point I noted is, on the drop down menu on the Pure Health registration site not all countries serviced by Etihad routes have a Pure Health testing facility - in fact the drop down menu has relatively few country options, how does that work?

Another question for EtihadHelp methinks.

Zac

I would think such a question is covered by this paragraph provided on the Etihad website:

It makes no difference as it a redirects one onto Pure Health's registration portal and it still comes up with the same select destinations/territories.

Zac.