By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: A new condition will be added to travel requirements starting from Feb 21. According to an official at the General Directorate for Civil Aviation, who spoke to Kuwait Times on the condition of anonymity, all departing passengers - citizens and expats - should have a hotel booking for seven days to remain under institutional quarantine after their return.

"This rule will be applied on all passengers leaving Kuwait, whether they have a round-trip ticket or even a one-way ticket. Even if the passenger is not sure about their exact return date, they should still have a hotel booking. The booking can later be modified according to their return date," the official told Kuwait Times. According to him, this rule will not apply to those who have canceled their residency in Kuwait and are leaving the country for good.

DGCA Spokesman Saad Al-Otaibi told Al-Qabas Arabic daily that meetings are being held with concerned authorities to implement institutional quarantine at local hotels for all arrivals for seven days at their own expense through registration on the Kuwait Mosafer app. Another seven days will be spent in home quarantine.

Otaibi said any citizen or expat cannot travel until after selecting and booking the place of quarantine at a Kuwait hotel and paying the cost in full, which is non-refundable and should be paid before traveling. Otaibi said exempting elderly passengers from institutional quarantine is still under discussion.