The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has directed all airline operators in the country to comply fully with the United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority's (GCAA) Safety Decision 2020-20 on all flights to and from UAE airports, warning that failure to do so would lead to sterner action, including suspension of permission to operate flights along the route.

In a notification dated Oct 22, the PCAA noted that the GCAA had shared two safety assessments of foreign aircraft (SAFA) reports that contain violations of the Safety Decision 2020-20 committed by airline operators.

"The conditions of operation to UAE airports are very clearly enunciated for the operators, but despite that clarity [...] non-compliance by the operators with regards to only one row of seats in the cabin for isolating infected passenger(s) with insufficient distance of one metre and not using full PPE (personal protective equipment) by cabin crew," has been pointed out, the authority said.

"Such violations are ignominious not only for the operator but also for the state and the regulator," it further stated, warning that if airline operators failed to comply with the GCAA's regulations, the PCAA would take sterner action which would include but was not limited to the withdrawal of permission to operate flights to and from UAE airports.

According to the GCAA's Safety Decision, an isolation area should be assigned at the back of the aircraft for suspected coronavirus cases. The isolation area should be three rows in the back, according to the regulator.

Cabin crews are mandated to wear face shields or goggles, masks, gloves during service and disposable gowns as "minimum requirements", the guidelines state.

The UAE had lifted a travel ban on vaccinated residents from several countries, including Pakistan, India and Bangladesh on Sept 12.

The PCAA had established testing facilities at eight major airports in different cities including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Faisalabad, Quetta and Sialkot for passengers travelling to United Arab Emirates earlier this year.