Kuwait has decided to resume direct commercial flights with Sri Lanka and five other countries – Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Nepal and Pakistan – after a suspension that lasted for months due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision came after a meeting of Kuwait’s Cabinet on Wednesday, local media reported. The government spokesman, Tareq Al-Mazrem has stated that the decision is conditional to adherence to regulations set in place by the country’s ministerial COVID-19 emergency committee.

According to local media, nationals from these six countries add up to approximately 2.3 million people in Kuwait, out of a total expat population of 3.3 million.

Kuwait suspended flights with multiple countries several months ago in a bid to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Reportedly, Kuwaiti Cabinet has given the nod to increase Kuwait airport’s capacity from 10,000 passengers to 15,000 passengers daily, local media further reported.

In addition, the Kuwaiti Cabinet has allowed its residents, who have received unapproved vaccinations outside the country (Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik V), to enter the country, provided that they take one more dose of one of the four approved vaccinations in Kuwait – Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

-with inputs from agencies