RAWALPINDI: Saudi Arabia has suspended entry to the kingdom by non-citizens, including passengers from Pakistan, from 9pm on Wednesday (today) as the authorities have stepped up efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to the ban, no passenger will be able to travel from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.

A spokesman for the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Tuesday night that the Saudi authorities had again banned arrival of passengers from Pakistan from 9pm on Feb 3, in the wake of a new wave of coronavirus. He said that a notification from the Saudi General Civil Aviation Authority was expected shortly.

Prior to the ban, the PIA flights were operating as usual from Sialkot to Dammam, Multan to Madina and Islamabad to Riyadh.

The spokesman said two PIA flights — from Karachi to Jeddah and Lahore to Madina — were currently in operation.

However, the PIA would continue flights to bring back passengers from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan, a PIA spokesman said.

Passengers who have booked seats on Pakistan-Saudi Arabia flights have been told that the flights have been postponed till the lifting of the ban.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2021