CAIRO – EgyptAir said it was suspending flights to and from Johannesburg starting Saturday in line with a government decision to halt direct flights with South Africa after the World Health Organization declared a new Covid-19 variant, named Omicron, to be “of concern”.
The national carrier said in a statement some measures will be taken for travelers arriving from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia and Eswatini.
The travelers from these countries arriving at Cairo International Airport via indirect flights (transit) en route to other countries will be subject to rapid DNA testing, and if any positive case is detected, it will be banned from boarding the other plane and the passenger will depart on the same plane of arrival, it said.
It added added that those arriving from these countries via indirect flights with Cairo being their final destination will be subject to rapid DNA testing, and if there is a positive case, the passenger will return on board the plane of arrival.
If the result of the test is negative, the passenger will be required to self-quarantine for seven days at home, and a PCR test will be conducted at the end of the one-week’s period, and the case will be monitored for another seven days through a medical team until the end of the maximum incubation period, it said.
