Islamabad, September 25, 2020 (PPI-OT): Following is attributable to the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Saudi Arabia has lifted restrictions on travel to and from Saudi Arabia for all those people who possess valid visas (Exit / Entry, Residence (Iqama), and Visit). However, travel is subject to negative PCR test, not later than 48 hours before arriving to Saudi Arabia.
There is no Pakistan specific restriction on travel. There were 75 PIA flights per week (Jeddah 42, Riyadh 13, Madinah 12 and Dammam 8), which were reduced to 22 (Jeddah 7, Riyadh 7, Madinah 4 and Dammam 4) during Covid-19 pandemic. Due to limited number of PIA flights, most of Pakistani nationals were facing difficulty to reach Saudi Arabia, who possessed valid visas for Saudi Arabia.
The matter was taken-up with Saudi Authorities and they have allowed to operate 21 additional PIA flights (Jeddah 10, Madinah 6 and Dammam 5 flights) from 25-30 September 2020. The matter is also under consideration of Saudi Authorities for more additional flights from 1st October to 30 October 2020. Currently, with the additional PIA flights, Pakistanis are travelling to Saudi Arabia without any difficulty.
For more information, contact:
Principal Information Officer,
Press Information Department (PID)
Tel: +92-51-9252323, +92-51-9252324
Fax: +92-51-9252325, +92-51-9252326
Email: piopid@gmail.com
Website: www.pid.gov.pk