ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Region’s busiest airport had a smooth reopening on Saturday after months of closure during the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Rudaw’s Bilind T. Abdullah. 

Passengers from a couple of scheduled flights complied with all the rules of social distancing and wearing protective masks and gloves. 

Some airlines require a recent coronavirus test, but the airport has not made it mandatory for all departing passengers. Arriving passengers must have been tested within 48 hours or pay for a test at the airport. All those arriving must self-isolate for 14 days, though officials and people on short-stay trips do not have to quarantine if they have tested negative for COVID-19.

At the request of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, the price for coronavirus tests at airports and border-crossings was dropped from 100,000 dinars ($84) to 60,000 dinars ($50), Dr. Hast Karim, who oversees Erbil airport’s health measures, told Rudaw. 

Diplomats do not have to be tested, but "they should inform us of where they will stay and when they will leave," he added. 

Outside of the airports, coronavirus testing is done at the Zanko health centre in Erbil or the Martyr Tahir Ali Wali Bag hospital in Sulaimani. Sulaimani’s airport requires all travelers to be tested before passing through its facility.


Photos: Bilind T. Abdullah