UAE residents and tourists can fly to Ras Al Khaimah without approval from October 15

The move announced by the emirate's Department of Civil Aviation comes as restrictions on air travel continue to be lifted

Ras Al Khaimah International Airport will welcome all travellers from October 15. The National

UAE residents and tourists will be allowed to fly to Ras Al Khaimah without prior approval from October 15, authorities have confirmed.

They will be required to present a negative Covid-19 certificate from a swab test taken no more than 96 hours before they board a flight to Ras Al Khaimah International Airport.

All passengers must also undergo a PCR test on arrival.

Travellers or their sponsors must cover the cost of an additional test and the expense of quarantine if they test positive for the virus following airport screening, said the emirate's Department of Civil Aviation.

The move comes as tight restrictions imposed on global air travel to combat the pandemic continue to gradually ease.

Tourists may enter the emirate from all countries on condition they fill in a medical tourism form in addition to presenting the negative Covid-19 test certificate.

Emirati citizens and residents will also be allowed to travel to any destination scheduled by Ras Al Khaimah International Airport, in line with travel procedures in place in those countries.

Ras Al Khaimah Airport offers flights to a number of major cities across the globe.

A new flight route between Ras Al Khaimah and Istanbul, Turkey, was inaugurated last year while the airport offers routes to Prague, Moscow, Luxembourg, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Katowice, Poznan, Brno, Cairo, Calicut, Peshawar, Jeddah, Islamabad and Lahore.

The emirate enjoyed a 5 per cent increase in overall visitor arrivals from January to October last year, with a peak of 117,995 visitors in August 2019.

RAK authorities have helped to repatriate tens of thousands of people throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

A repatriation operation carried out in June in conjunction with the

Indian Government and Indian airline SpiceJet returned 53,000 Indians to their homeland.

UAE airports resume operations after Covid-19 restrictions:

Tourists from Ukraine arrive at Dubai International Airport on flydubai flight on July 10. Courtesy: Dubai Media Office

The Covid-19 pandemic requires everyone to maintain hygiene protocols such as wearing a mask and social distancing. AFP

An Indian passenger carries a child as she waits for a repatriation flight from Dubai International Airport. AFP

Health workers test an Indian citizen at Dubai International Airport before he boards a repatriation flight. AFP

Medics screen passengers waiting to board repatriation flights at Dubai International Airport. AFP

Passengers heading for Dubai can now be tested for Covid-19 at a greater number of facilities after the Emirates airlines recognised more clinics outside the Pure Health network. Getty Images

The initiative involved close to 300 special flights travelling to 21 locations in India.

In March, hundreds of German and US tourists were flown home from Ras Al Khaimah and Abu Dhabi after being stranded due to the global aviation shut down.

A total of 329 passengers, most of whom are German citizens, departed from RAK International Airport on two flights. German charter airline Sundair was used for the repatriation flight.