The Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) has issued new SOPs or travel guidelines for Canada-bound passengers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The SOPs were issued after a day, the national carrier announced the resumption of direct flights to Toronto, Canada.

PIA said that Corona Vaccine Certificate is a must for children under five years of age and older and all passengers needed to log in and put travel details on the android application ‘Arrive Can’.

PIA said that passengers will also have to share their quarantine plan in Canada with the application before their flights. The national airline said that a doctor of PIA will inquire all passengers before the flight and upon detecting the COVID-19 symptoms, the passengers would not be allowed to travel.

The PIA also released a list of selected labs approved by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

A PIA spokesman said on Monday that Canadian officials had allowed PIA to resume flights to Toronto. 

It is relevant to note that operations had earlier been restricted to cargo only on Pakistan to Canada routes due to the surge in Covid-19 cases. However, other travel-related advisories pertaining to Canada will remain in place, he said.

In the first phase, PIA will start three direct flights per week from Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad to Toronto and PIA has started booking flights from Pakistan to Canada from Tuesday (today).  

The airline will be following strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), the PIA chief executive officer (CEO) assured the Canadian government.