Emirates has abandoned coronavirus blood tests after Dubai’s Department of Health said they were inaccurate.
Instead, it will now switch to using ‘polymerase chain reaction’ throat swab tests.
UAE newspaper The National reported that officials were aware of “significant variations in quality and that expert opinion over the tests remained divided” on the original procedure.
On 15 April, Emirates introduced the measure in coordination with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). The first flight to be screened were aboard a flight departing Dubai for Tunisia. All were screened.
At the time, Emirates chief operating officer Adel Al Redha said, “The testing process has gone smoothly … We are working on plans to scale up testing capabilities in the future and extend it to other flights, this will enable us to conduct on-site tests and provide immediate confirmation for Emirates passengers travelling to countries that require COVID-19 test certificates. The health and safety of staff and passengers at the airport remain of paramount importance.”
Emirates implemented the measure across several of its repatriation efforts, most notably those departing for India. However, concerns over the tests’ accuracy led the airline to scrap the move on 18 May.
In a statement released to the public, Emirates announced that it will continue to assess passengers with the use of polymerase chain reaction tests.
