New Delhi: Saudi Government will not retain Indian Airlines crew members passports on arrival in the country and instead issue a barcode with a limited validity, confirmed Air India Spokesperson on Friday.
The issue of retaining Indian Airline’s crew members passports in Saudi Arabia was taken up with the Saudi Government since the rule is causing inconvenience to crew members staying for the time period. Issuance of the bar code will benefit Air India and Jet Airways who take flights to Saudi Arabia.
The new development by the Government also allows Air India to take flights over Saudi’s airspace to Tel Aviv which is seen as a major diplomatic development in West Asia.
Four Air India crew members were detained in Jeddah last year by Saudi Government for not showing their original passports. The crew members had gone out for dinner when the Police team checked them for travel documents. Unable to provide their original passports, the members were put in Police Van along with confiscating their cell phones.
Crew members of all airlines are mandated to deposit their passports at the immigration office in Jeddah which issues the members a certificate which can be deposited at the hotels during their stay.
The photocopy of this certificate is all the crew members have with themselves during their stay in the country, DC reports.