Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has begun implementing its new updates for travellers on Saudi Airlines. The new guidelines permit only those who obtain two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to travel on its domestic flights from September 1.
However, there are exemptions for specific cases wherein one is not required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Children under the age of 12 are exempted from vaccination by the relevant health authorities in the Kingdom.
Saudi Airlines has urged travellers to take all precautions, preventive protocols and new prescriptions regarding vaccination against the COVID-19 virus. As per media reports, the authorities advised travellers to check their COVID-19 status with the Tawakkalna app before booking their tickets.
The spate of decisions and activities about flying within Saudi Arabia and crossing its borders is part of a larger push at government level to reboot Kingdoms airline sector and broaden revenue sources. The Saudi government has banned travel from the red list countries this year.
In August 2021, the country eased restrictions on COVID-19 for fully vaccinated residents so that they could travel directly to the kingdom from countries facing a travel ban, including India. The ease of restrictions applied only to those who had a valid residence permit and left the Kingdom with an exit and re-entry visa after taking two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia launched a mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 last December.
Meanwhile, the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine given in the Kingdom since the start of vaccination until September 2,2021 exceeded 37 million doses, which were distributed through more than 587 vaccination sites in all regions of the Kingdom.