Thread by @Ash_Stewart_

PSA to anyone flying in to Dubai amid #coronavirus / #COVID19 outbreak: I came in last night at 3am from Lebanon and the process is super tight - which is actually kinda reassuring. A thread:

2: Flight attendants hand out a pretty thorough document before you land which asks if you’ve been to China, and all your contact details and seat information etc etc

3: On the air bridge you’ll be greeted with staff in hospital gowns and a thermal scanner, before you’re shuttled through to the gate which is basically now a makeshift medical testing area

4:You’ll line up for the first station where you hand over your passport and get your swabbing utensils before you head over to a cordoned off area and get a swab up your nose so intrusive it feels like it’s stabbing your brain (my guy might just have been a bit enthusiastic)

5: Then you’re done. That process took us about 45 minutes, though we were at the front of the plane. Others further back took just over an hour max. But the staff at @DubaiAirports are clearly working towards making this as efficient and thorough as possible

6. Case in point: by the time you get to baggage claim, all the suitcases have been taken off the carousel and are stacked nicely beside it so you just pick them up and you’re straight out the door. A really streamlined and thorough process under the circumstances

7: this might just be for people coming in from at-risk countries, like Lebanon, so would be interested to hear if this is a blanket approach or not

Update: the aforementioned nasal swabbing and screening process at DXB for #coronavirus / #Covid19 is specifically for passengers arriving from Beijing, Syria, Lebanon, Thailand and Italy. As I mentioned, security is much tighter for high-risk outbreak countries.

But if you need more info about nasal swabs and incessant 280-character limited excerpts simply isn't enough, here it is in story form:

thenational.ae/lifestyle/trav…

Want even MORE nasal swab / #COVID19 info?

Listen to my chat on @DubaiEye1038FM with @tomurquhart on everything you need to know about coming in to @DubaiAirports and how important first-hand information is right now

omny.fm/shows/theagend…