Saudi Arabia extends entry ban amid coronavirus variant fears

E-Paper | April 28, 2026

Saudi Arabia extends entry ban amid coronavirus variant fears

Reuters Published December 28, 2020

Travellers wearing protective face masks walk at Riyadh International Airport, after Saudi Arabia reopened domestic flights, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia May 31, 2020. — Reuters/File

Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry on Monday extended a ban on entry to the kingdom by air, land and sea for another week amid concerns over a fast-spreading variant of the new coronavirus, the state news agency SPA reported.

Saudi Arabia shut its borders on Monday Dec 21 and suspended international commercial flights on a rolling weekly basis although foreign flights already in the country were allowed to leave.

The ministry said it is evaluating the situation while allowing non-citizens to leave the kingdom and allowing entry for exceptional cases, SPA reported.

The measures do not affect the movement of goods.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had also halted all its flights scheduled to Saudi Arabia since Dec 21. PIA spokesman Abdullah Khan had said all affected passengers would be accommodated at the earliest upon flight restoration.

PIA is resuming commercial flights to Saudi Arabia on Monday (today) to bring back stranded Pakistanis after Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation allowed non-Saudis to leave the kingdom and permitted foreign airlines to operate flights for the purpose.

Our readers are at the heart of everything we do.
Do you have a thought to share or a way we can improve? We’d love to hear it. Reach out to us at feedback@dawn.com.

World

Saudi Arabia suspends international flights and land and sea entry for a week

UK confirms new virus strain spreads more quickly

PIA to operate cargo flights to Saudi Arabia

Ashraf The Great

Dec 28, 2020 01:25pm

Indians can still go

Recommend 0

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad

Dec 28, 2020 01:26pm

Better safe than sorry.

Recommend 0

Fastrack

Dec 28, 2020 02:31pm

@Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmad, no safe no sorry..no one wants you. get used to it.

Recommend 0

Desi

Dec 28, 2020 02:42pm

Games of our Iron brother, world still reeling even after a year.

Recommend 0

Monsieur

Dec 28, 2020 02:53pm

will the repatriated Pakistanis be allowed to return to Saudi Arabia?

Recommend 0

Afghani

Dec 28, 2020 03:19pm

Next week 200 Indians from space research are leaving for Saudi to collaborate. Is this ban applicable to them?

Recommend 0

M. Emad

Dec 28, 2020 03:45pm

• Temporary (few weeks) 'entry ban' for Indian & Bangladeshi workers. • Permanent Deportation for Pakistani workers.

Recommend 0

F-35

Dec 28, 2020 04:59pm

PIA is like plague that everyone wants to avoid.

Recommend 0

Fastfriend

Dec 28, 2020 05:16pm

Air India is a plague and will shut down operation in 2021

Recommend 0

Misbah

Dec 28, 2020 05:34pm

@Fastfriend, PIA is already shut down and banned by all nations.

Recommend 0

N. Burki

Dec 28, 2020 06:06pm

It will be a great achievement of the government if Pakistani workers or white collar employees do not have to sacrifice their life time in any Arab country.

Recommend 0

Vikas

Dec 28, 2020 07:54pm

Why this discrimination against Pakistanis? Most of the country citizens are allowed to stay on and even enter. Indians do not have a problem. My cousin is a doctor there and is very comfortable. Why does Pakistan need to evacuate its citizens? And is PIA safe to bring them all back?

Recommend 0

Sri

Dec 28, 2020 09:32pm

It is better for Pakistan to be indebted to Saudi Arabia than to be embroiled in further debt with China.

Recommend 0

Gary

Dec 29, 2020 03:11am

@M. Emad, We understand you do not like Pakistanis.

Recommend 0

Gary

Dec 29, 2020 03:12am

@Vikas, Pakistan is getting pressurised to recognise Israel.

Recommend 0

Branded Content

NexGen Auto (Nishat Group) to Introduce iCAUR in Pakistan

As one of Pakistan’s leading business groups, Nishat Group operates across key sectors including textiles, cement, banking, insurance, power and agriculture.

NTL and Unikrew Solutions establish additional strategic understanding for potential transformation opportunities

Collaboration brings together complementary strengths to jointly pursue high-impact opportunities in Pakistan and international markets.

Indus Cloud signs strategic partnership agreement with PTCL to deliver cloud excellence

The partnership marks a significant step in Indus Cloud’s and PTCL’s joint efforts to strengthen Pakistan’s cloud and data centre infrastructure and expand access to enterprise-grade digital services in the country.