Qatar Airways Requires Negative Covid-19 RT-PCR Test to Travel

13th August 2020

Effective August 13, 2020, Qatar Airways will require a negative Covid-19 RT-PCR test from the following affected countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. They will also be required for passengers travelling with Qatar Airways from India, Nepal, Nigeria and Russia, when service is resumed to these countries.

Seafarers on scheduled flights need to undergo a RT-PCR test within 96 hours prior to departure and present a negative test result at the check-in counter as opposed to non-essential workers who have a 72-hour testing requirement.

• Seafarers who disembark from vessel/ship and board Qatar Airways operating flight in the same country within 36 hours do not need to present a test result, provided they present a document, which proves that they have disembarked from the vessel/ship within the last 36 hours
• Test result for all other seafarers shall be issued within 96 hours prior to flight departure from one of the Qatar Airways authorised laboratories. The list of approved laboratories is published on their website.

Seafarers shall need to present a valid seaman book or copy of original signing on / signing off papers for validation.

Passengers must complete and submit a consent form at check-in along with the negative test result. For ease, you can download the form and complete it ahead of your travel.

Any and all passengers will be denied boarding if they do not have a negative test performed in their required timeframe, or those who do no consent to sharing their results with Qatar Airways.

You can access Qatar’s page for Covid-19 response with greater details on their implemented hygiene and security measures on board or at their main hub in the Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, here.

Due to the suspension of many scheduled air services, chartering has become an increasingly practical alternative for crew repatriations. On July 8th, 2020, GMT organized a chartered aircraft from Qatar Airways for off-signers going from Amsterdam to Manila from 15 different key customers spanning from Cruise Operators to Ship Owners, Ship Management Companies and Manning Agencies.

For more information, contact our Safe Crew Corridors operations team directly: travel.scc@flygmt.com.