KARACHI: PIA flights will continue to operate to bring back Pakistanis already in Saudi Arabia, the airline’s spokesperson confirmed after the kingdom’s decision to suspend arrivals from 20 countries, including Pakistan.
The ban was placed from 9pm Wednesday, February 3, the PIA spokesperson said.
The ban has been imposed in the wake of a new wave of coronavirus.
Prior to the ban, PIA flights were operating as usual from Sialkot to Dammam, Multan to Madina and Islamabad to Riyadh.
The ban by Saudi Arabia excludes diplomats, Saudi citizens, medical practitioners and their families.
Saudi Arabia had said it would bar entry of people arriving from the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey, as well as the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Japan.
The country’s interior ministry said the suspension includes travellers who transited through the aforementioned countries within the 14 days prior to their planned journey to the kingdom.
