KUWAIT CITY, Sept 19: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will operate direct flights to and from Iraq for a period of two weeks for citizens and their first-degree relatives who intend to visit holy shrines, in light of the closure of Abdally border for more than 21 months, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources from the directorate.

Sources told the daily that the flights will start next week only for citizens and their firstdegree relatives, provided they are fully vaccinated. Passengers should register on the designated platform before the flight from Kuwait, pay the cost of institutional quarantine upon return and two PCR tests — one upon arrival in Kuwait and another on the sixth day of quarantine. A negative PCR test result must be obtained within 72 hours before the return trip to Kuwait. Institutional quarantine will last for seven days, followed by home quarantine for another seven days.