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Foreigners without negative coronavirus tests can be barred from Russian flights

Russia will start to gradually resume its coronavirus-related restrictions on the international air travel next month

MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. Russian air carriers are entitled to bar foreigners from their flights if they fail to show a document proving they are not infected with the novel coronavirus, the Russian Federal Air Transport agency said on Friday in a note to airports and airlines, obtained by TASS.

Russia will start to gradually resume its coronavirus-related restrictions on the international air travel next month. On August 1, Russia will resume flights to the United Kingdom, Turkey and Tanzania. Flights would restart from airports of Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and Rostov-On-Don to London, Zanzibar, Ankara and Istanbul. On August 10, flights will go to the Turkish resorts of Antalya, Bodrum and Dalaman.

"All foreign nationals arriving to the Russian territory <…> may be prohibited to board an aircraft if they don't have a medical document, which confirms a negative PCR test for COVID-2019 (by the decision of the air carrier)," the document says.

The test should be taken no earlier than three days before the arrival to the Russian territory.

If a foreigner failed to undergo the test at his or her homeland, he is "obliged to take a PCR test for novel coronavirus on the Russian territory within three days after the arrival."

Russian citizens, arriving from abroad, are to fill in a special form on Russia’s state services web portal while registering for the flight there, and to upload the results of their novel coronavirus testing into it within three days from their arrival.

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