The six RT-PCR labs installed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport are now  awaiting approval from the United Arab Emirate  to start Covid-19 testing for the departing passengers.

State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali said this while talking to reporters at the secretariat on Tuesday.

On Sunday the labs were installed at the airport and sent the collected reports on that day to the UAE as per their condition, said the state minister.

Mahbub said a flight has been canceled already as approval for the  six labs has not come yet from the UAE.

Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Chairman Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said the UAE government gave a condition that Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the institutes selected by Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has to be informed the UAE authorities to get the approval.

It was sent to the UAE two weeks ago, he said.

“Already two successful test flights have been sent to the country completing the test by one of their selected institute as per the requirement of UAE”, said M Mafidur Rahman.

A meeting of UAE’s National Committee for Crisis and Emergency will be held today to examine the SOPs which is a formality as they have already given the verbal nod, said the CAAB Chairman.

Air Vice-Marshal M Mafidur Rahman said, “They require a huge number of workers for their Dubai Expo too but the process has been delayed due to bureaucratic p bottleneck.”

“We are continuously perusing to accelerate the decision and hopefully we will get it in no time,” said state minister Mahbub Ali.