Pakistani nationals face setback at the Heathrow Airport over return back to country
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LONDON: Pakistani nationals looking to fly back to the country have not been able to board flights at the Heathrow Airport.
According to Geo News, airlines have refused to fly back passengers despite Pakistan government's directives that Pakistani passport-holders and students would be allowed to travel to the country , provided they hold a negative coronavirus test conducted within 72 hours of the travel time.
The passengers, however, are not being allowed to board flights even with a negative COVID-19 test result. They staged a protest over the non-cooperation of the airlines at the Heathrow Airport.
Countries including Pakistan placed travel restrictions and closed their borders to the United Kingdom after a new strain of the coronavirus was detected earlier this month.
The new strain, referred to by some experts as the B.1.17 lineage, is not the first variant of COVID-19 pandemic, but it is said to be up to 70% more transmissible than the previously dominant strain in the UK.
It has since been detected in some European countries, South Africa, India, Japan and Pakistan.
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