Saudi Arabia to selectively lift intl flight ban on Sept 15

Saudi Arabia will partially lift its suspension of international flights as of September 15 to allow "exceptional categories" of citizens and residents to travel, news agency SPA said on Sunday.

Saudi will scrap all travel restrictions on air, land, and sea transport for citizens on January 1, 2021, it said. In March, the kingdom suspended international flights to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Exceptional categories include public and military sector employees, diplomats and their families, those working for public or non-profit private sector jobs abroad, businessmen, patients who need treatment abroad, those studying abroad as well as people with humanitarian cases, and sports teams. GCC citizens and non-Saudi residents with valid residency, or visitors' visas will be allowed to enter the kingdom as of September 15 conditional on proving they are COVID-19 negative.

Saudi introduced stringent measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in March, including 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities. It has recorded 325,651 COVID-19 cases and 4,268 deaths.

(With inputs from Reuters)