Colombo, March 06th, 2020:
SriLankan Airlines has cancelled its flights to Jeddah from March 15 - April 30 following restrictions being set in place by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia on the entry of foreign nationals into Saudi Arabia, in view of the present Coronavirus pandemic.
SriLankan will continue to fly to other cities that it serves in Saudi Arabia, namely Riyadh and Dammam.
SriLankan advises its valued passengers that restrictions by GACA include a temporary ban on entry into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the purpose of Umrah and visiting the Prophet’s Mosque for citizens of all countries.
The granting of tourism visas into any part of Saudi Arabia has also been suspended for travelers from China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao), Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Philippines, Singapore, India, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Somalia and Vietnam.
The use of National IDs of citizens of Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations for the purpose of travel into or out of Saudi Arabia has been suspended; with the exception of Saudi citizens who are currently outside the Kingdom who wish to return to Saudi Arabia, provided that they had used their National ID to exit the Kingdom, and GCC citizens currently in the Kingdom who wish to exit Saudi Arabia provided that they had used their National ID to enter the Kingdom.
Passengers from any nation who have been in China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao) or Iran will not be allowed to enter Saudi Arabia until a period of 14 days has elapsed since their exit from those countries. This includes passengers who intend to transit/transfer through Saudi Arabia to other countries.
Crew members of all airlines that operate to Saudi Arabia may be subjected to medical checks after entry into the Kingdom.
GACA has also stated that all airlines are responsible for the return of passengers that they have already carried into Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
Corporate Communications
SriLankan Airlines