Saudi Arabia to lift some international flight restrictions on September 15

Kingdom will lift all travel restrictions for citizens on Jan 1, 2021, says state news agency

RIYADH:

Saudi Arabia will partially lift its suspension of international flights as of Sept 15 to allow “exceptional categories” of citizens and residents to travel, the state news agency SPA said on Sunday.

The kingdom will lift all travel restrictions for citizens on Jan 1, 2021, it said.

In March, the kingdom suspended international flights to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Exceptional categories include public and military sector employees, diplomats and their families, those working for public or non-profit private sector jobs abroad, businessmen, patients who need treatment abroad, those studying abroad as well as people with humanitarian cases, and sports teams.

GCC citizens and non-Saudi residents with valid residency, or visitors' visas will be allowed to enter the kingdom as of Sept 15 conditional on proving they are Covid-19 negative.

The kingdom introduced stringent measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in March, including 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities.

The decision comes as coronavirus cases continue to drop in the country, according to Saudi Gazette.

Saudi Arabia has confirmed 601 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 325,651, the health ministry announced on Sunday.

The death toll also increased to 4,268 after 28 new fatalities were recorded, according to the health ministry.

Meanwhile, the number of recoveries increased to 302,870 as 1,034 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals, health ministry spokesperson Dr Muhammad Al Abdel Ali was quoted by SPA as saying.