JEDDAH — Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has so far resumed services to 20 international destinations following the partial lifting of the travel suspension on Sept. 15, the airline made the announcement on its Twitter account on Thursday. The national carrier said that it is operating international flights since October to seven European destinations — Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Paris and Istanbul, and the US capital Washington. It is flying to and from six destinations in Africa — Addis Ababa, Alexandria, Cairo, Khartoum, Nairobi and Tunisia and five in Asia — Islamabad, Karachi, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila and two destinations in the Middle East — Amman and Dubai. Saudia called on all passengers to follow travel instructions and requirements caused by the coronavirus pandemic, indicating that flights are available for booking according to availability. The airline resumed international flights on Sept. 15 following the decision of the Saudi authorities to exempt certain categories of Saudis and expatriates from the temporary travel ban imposed since March as part of precautionary measures to stem the spread of coronavirus. Accordingly, all the international airports in the Kingdom have been geared up to operate flights during this phase in coordination with the Ministry of Health and other government agencies, the General Authority of Civil Aviation had said in a statement earlier. The GACA said that all the passengers returning to the Kingdom shall remain in home quarantine for three days and they should undergo another PCR test 48 hours after entering the Kingdom to prove that they are not infected with the coronavirus. The authority said that it would update the guidelines for passengers in line with the approved health protocols. Meanwhile, the General Directorate of Passports (Jawazat) called on citizens and expatriates traveling through the Kingdom's land, sea and air ports to comply with the health requirements, regulations and entry instructions of the countries to which they are intended to travel. It noted that some of these countries stipulate a number of procedures and requirements to stem the spread of coronavirus. The directorate noted that citizens and expatriates might be exposed to a situation of canceling their travel and return upon arrival in those countries in the event of non-compliance of these requirements. Jawazat stated that these conditions and procedures are updated constantly and without prior notice. It is noteworthy that passports are required to travel to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, and it is not possible to travel using the national identity card. Before traveling, citizens must make sure that the remaining period in the passport is no less than three months to Arab countries and no less than six months to other countries. More details can be had from the official website of Jawazat.
