Good news for residents and travellers planning to visit the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as it announced that its travel ban will finally be lifted for those travelling overseas beginning 1:00 am on May 17.
READ ALSO: Here are the 6 Types of Ban in the UAE
The kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority announced in a circular however that they may continue suspending travel to specific countries where the coronavirus pandemic situation remains bad.
Saudi to Lift Travel Ban on Citizens Traveling Overseas Starting May 17
The Authority confirmed the date in a statement it sent out to local airports that all international flights and airports will resume regular operations in May instead of March 31, as earlier announced in January, the Arab News reported.
With this update, Saudi domestic airports have reported a quicker recovery in routes within the Kingdom than larger regional rivals relying on pandemic-paralyzed long-haul travel.
Since last year, the Middle East has suffered particularly because of the global aviation slowdown due to its comparatively under-developed domestic market, which many countries are seeking to improve by 2030, including Saudi Arabia.
Commenting on this, CAPA analyst Richard Maslen shared: “The domestic recovery in Saudi Arabia is already showing positive signs, in frequency terms at least.”
The CAPA also noted that weekly domestic flights in the Kingdom have grown to about 3,000.
This development represents only a 23 per cent decline over the first two months of the year compared with the same period a year ago before COVID-19 restrictions were set in place.
READ NEXT: DFA Advisory: Rules when Travelling to the Philippines
