Saudi Arabia reopens borders, greets tourists after almost 1 year

For the past 14 months, Saudi citizens have mostly been banned from travelling abroad out of concerns that international travel could fuel the outbreak of the virus within the country of more than 30 million people.

In an announcement on Sunday, the Saudi Interior Ministry announced that May 17 will mark the full opening of all borders, air, land, and sea.

After lift-up of restrictions, the Kingdom will allow people who got COVID-19 jabs to travel along with those who have recovered from infection in less than six months, it said.

The categories include those who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, those who received one dose at least two weeks before travel, those recovering from the virus within six months from the date of travel, and citizens under 18-years-old provided they present a travel insurance policy approved by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), covering the risks of COVID-19 outside the Kingdom before travel.

The decision was based on the recommendations by the competent health authorities.

The General Directorate of Passports said those wishing to travel outside the Kingdom are required to follow the instructions issued by the interior ministry depending on what category they fall into.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia will impose institutional quarantine on arriving passengers starting from May 20, the Ministry announced. 

Some categories of passengers will be excluded from the quarantine, including Saudi citizens, their spouses and children. Along with passengers who received COVID-19 vaccines, official delegations, as well as diplomats and their families residing with them will also be excluded from the institutional quarantine.

But the excluded categories, except for the vaccinated individuals will be required to undergo home quarantine, with an emphasis on the need to obtain a valid health insurance policy to cover the risks of the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian Airlines in a statement earlier said that it has completed preparations to operate flights to 71 destinations from 95 airports, including 28 domestic and 43 international destinations.

The airline said since the beginning of the pandemic, it has operated more than 100,000 flights and transported more than 10 million passengers.

The General Authority of Civil Aviation said that around 385 flights are expected to operate throughout the Saudi Arabia airports on Monday.

The Interior Ministry, however, added that said travel to several COVID-affected countries, directly or via another nation, is still banned without prior permission. 

The countries are India, Libya, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran, Turkey, Armenia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Belarus.