Saudi Arabia lifts flight ban out of kingdom for ‘non-Saudis’
A man stands outside a Qatar Airways branch in the Saudi capital Riyadh, after it was forced to suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia. PHOTO: AFP
Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said on Sunday non-Saudis could now leave the kingdom after all international commercial flights were halted last week.
The country's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has directed airlines operating in the airports of the Kingdom to transport non-Saudi passengers outside the Kingdom, and that is in total compliance with the precautionary measures to stem the spread of coronavirus, according to Saudi Gazette.
GACA has given permission to foreign airlines to operate charter flights for this purpose on the condition that the crew of a landing plane at the Kingdom’s airports do not leave their plane, and that they do not physically have contact with the ground/operation staff of the arrival airport.
Last Sunday, Saudi Arabia closed its borders and suspended commercial flights over fears about a new coronavirus variant.
Following the order by Saudi Arabia, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cancelled all flights to the kingdom.