Saudi Arabia flies in nationals from Georgia, Azerbaijan
RIYADH, May 2, 2020
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) today (May 2) flew in its nationals who had been stuck in Georgia and Azerbaijan owing to the nationwide lockdown as part of the precautionary measures being implemented to curb the Covid-19 pandemic, said a report.
The operations were implementation on the directives of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and their keenness on the health and safety of Saudi citizens abroad in light of the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic across the world, reported state news agency SPA.
Upon Arrival King Abdulaziz international Airport, the returnees were received by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Health and the GACA.
The repatriation took place as per the new guidelines issued by Saudi health authorities. When the flight arrived at the kingdom’s various airports, the passengers were told to disembark from the plane in a standardized way to ensure that there was no congestion inside the terminals.
This in addition to providing a sterilization area at the gate, said the report.
The Ministry of Health has allocated a checkpoint through which all incoming passengers pass through the mandatory thermal camera devices to ensure the safety of all passengers.
As per the new guidelines, the authorities on spotting a positive case will isolate the particular passenger from the rest of the crowd and then sent to the hospital for further treatment.
All passengers are required to sterilize their hands before the start of passport control and fingerprinting procedures. At the customs area a distance of at least 1.5 meters is to be maintained between the customs officers and passengers, said the SPA report.
After all the relevant procedures, passengers will then be taken to the guesthouses in buses for completing the quarantine period as per the directives of the Ministry of Health in co-ordination with the Ministry of Tourism officials.
