JEDDAH: More than 600 Saudi citizens on Tuesday arrived in Jeddah from Jakarta (258) and Washington (220), and 155 arrived in Riyadh from New York on special flights arranged by the Kingdom to ensure the safe return of all its citizens stranded abroad in the wake of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak.
They were received by officials of the ministries of foreign affairs, tourism, health and the General Authority of Civil Aviation at the airports in Jeddah and Riyadh.
Passengers have to undergo 12 preventive checkups in three stages — before boarding the plane, inside the cabin and then finally upon arrival.
The Ministry of Health has allocated a checkpoint through which passengers pass thermal cameras upon arrival. Suspicious cases are transferred safely to a designated area further away.
Passengers are also required to sanitize their hands before starting procedures at the passport and customs control area, where a distance of 1.5 meters must be maintained between the passenger and passport officer.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Passengers have to undergo 12 preventive checkups in three stages.
• The Ministry of Health has allocated a checkpoint through which passengers pass thermal cameras upon arrival.
They are then escorted to their designated guesthouses. The Ministry of Tourism has allocated over 11,000 rooms so far across the Kingdom to accommodate the number of repatriations for the 14-day isolation period, which is supervised by the Ministry of Health.
Buses transporting the arriving passengers have been provided by the Ministry of Education and are equipped with safety measures and services.
Requests to return home can be filed through a dedicated platform on the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s website .
Three Saudi airports, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, have been prepared to receive citizens stranded in different parts of the world.
