Iraq mandates international COVID-19 vaccination pass for air travelers

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/10/01 14:57

Passengers wearing protective masks wait for flights at Baghdad International Airport, July 23, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye)

Iraq COVID-19 Aviation Krg Iraqi government Vaccine Vaccination Card

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – As of Nov. 1, all travelers who wish to fly internationally through Iraqi airports must present an international vaccination certificate that proves they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority announced on Friday.

Except those who are medically exempted from receiving a vaccination, all passengers traveling through Iraqi airports must present the document, which includes personal information of the carrier, the kind of vaccine the holder has received, as well as the dates they were given each dose.

Additionally, anyone who has been infected with the coronavirus over the past three months can also travel abroad without the need for a vaccination pass, for which the Iraqi government charges 30,000 IQD (nearly $20). Recent COVID-19 patients must present a negative PCR test prior to boarding a flight, the authority added.

Iraqi travelers, in addition to abiding by domestic traveling instructions, must also abide by any restrictions in place in other nations' airports through or to which they may fly.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has recently begun issuing its own version of the vaccination pass for 5,000 IQD (almost $3.5).

Since the launch of the national vaccination drive in early March, Iraq and the autonomous Kurdistan Region has administered more than four million coronavirus vaccine doses, of which the country administers AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Sinopharm.