(Islamabad) The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Sunday
announced the resumption of two-way flights to the kingdom after Saudi Arabia
lifted its ban on international travel. Riyadh had closed its borders for
travel last month after a new strain of the novel coronavirus had been detected
in the United Kingdom. On Sunday; the kingdom's civil aviation authority; the
General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) announced the country was resuming
international travel in a notification following which PIA made the
announcement regarding resumption of its travel.
A few days ago;
the PIA had announced that it would repatriate Pakistani who had been stranded
in Saudi Arabia following the outbreak of the second wave of the virus.
‘Passengers will
be able to travel to Saudi Arabia from today on all PIA flights;’ said the
national flag carrier's spokesperson. ‘All travelers must obtain a {negative}
PCR test before they travel.’
PIA flights to Saudi Arabia suspended
Last week; all PIA
flights to Saudi Arabia were suspended until further notice.
The development
came after Saudi government temporarily suspended entry into the Kingdom after
a new strain of the coronavirus was identified in the United Kingdom. The
mutation is believed to be more contagious. A PIA spokesperson had said that
the national carrier had suspended 18 flights to and from the Kingdom on the
directives issued by the Saudi aviation authority. The PIA spokesperson had
asked effected passengers to register through the airline’s UAN 11-786-786 with
their working phone numbers to receive timely updates.
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