Ban Travel Revoked, Flight Orders to Saudi Arabia Full

Riyadh, MINA – Saudis and expats residing abroad are bombarding travel agencies and booking sites. The orders was initiated by the Kingdom’s decision to lift the temporary ban on travel to the country.

Travel to Saudi Arabia by air, land and sea has been suspended for two weeks after the discovery of a new variant of Covid-19 in Britain and elsewhere. The new mutant strain of the virus is said to be 70 percent more infectious than the original.

As it qouted from Arab News on Monday, the travel permit was resumed at 11 a.m, Sunday. Nevertheless, non-Saudis arriving from countries where a new variant of the virus has been detected are required to stay at least 14 days outside of these countries and have a PCR test before entering the Kingdom.

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It was also reported that there are still many expats trapped abroad. They are struggling to get back to the Kingdom, with limited flight availability.

A private sector worker, Nasir Jawed, left the Kingdom early last year. He decided to spend time with his family in India, and has not been able to return since then. He is now stranded in Dubai.

“First, I spent 10 months in India waiting for flights to resume. Now, again, when I reach the UAE to return to Saudi Arabia, after remaining in the UAE for 14 days of quarantine, flights to Saudi Arabia are again canceled,” he continued.

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Jawed said he was having trouble getting his flight tickets reissued, like other airlines. The earliest available flight to Saudi Arabia is within 16 days, which may be a problem for blue collar workers unable to stay in hotels.

“Other airlines’ flights are also full. The same conditions, the same problem. There are no flights for the next few days,” he said. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)