KARACHI: Passengers travelling from Jinnah International Airport for Umrah or Hajj will be required to carry a NADRA-integrated digital vaccination certificate from September 14, according to a directive issued by the Airport Health Department.
The notification, dated September 7 and signed by Airport Health Officer Dr Sara Saeed, said the Federal Government Civil Dispensary is the only authorised centre for vaccinating international travellers leaving for Hajj or Umrah.
Travellers will be required to obtain vaccination certificates for polio, meningitis, yellow fever and influenza, with their records integrated into the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) system.
No other vaccination card will be accepted after September 14. Airlines have been directed to inform their travel agents that only NADRA-linked digital certificates will be considered valid for travel.
Station managers of all airlines have also been asked to ensure that Umrah pilgrims obtain the required certificates from authorised vaccination centres before departure.
Vaccination and online registration facilities will also be introduced at the international departure area in the coming days. Passengers seeking vaccination at the airport have been advised to arrive at least six hours before their flights. Payments will be processed through the e-Sahulat NADRA platform.
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The requirement currently applies to passengers departing from Karachi, while officials have indicated that similar arrangements will later be introduced at airports in Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore.
The move follows the recent inauguration of an International Travellers Vaccination Centre in Islamabad by Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal. At the event, the minister stressed the importance of meningitis vaccination certificates for pilgrims and the digitisation of vaccination records linked to CNIC data.
Copies of the directive have been sent to the Director of Border Health Services-Pakistan, Chairman of the Airport Operators Committee at Jinnah International Airport, IATA country manager and secretary general of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan.
