[WATCH] Long queues persist in airport arrivals hall

Passengers travelling to Malta International Airport are having to spend hours waiting in the airport's arrivals hall as COVID vaccine checks continue to cause delays.

Footage sent to MaltaToday shows lengthy queues of passengers in the baggage claim area, all waiting to exit into the arrivals greeting hall.

The queues wind all throughout the area, with little to no social distancing between travellers.

Malta International Airport said last week that delays were due to COVID vaccine checks, with immigration officials assigned to carry out the verifications.

Only eight desks were assigned to the COVID checks initially.

Last week, Malta International Airport confirmed that the queues were the result of COVID vaccine certificate and test result checks, which are paper based. The checks are imposed by the Maltese health authorities as part of safety measures to reduce the risk of importing COVID-19 cases.

The situation is out of the airport's hands, as checks are being coordinated by the health authorities.

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