Air India Express will continue to fly passengers from Saudi Arabia to India, but not on returns

Dubai: Air India Express said it would continue to fly passengers from Saudi Arabia to India - but it will not operate flights from India to the Gulf country, it said in a tweet.

The airline’s announcement comes a day after Saudi Arabia suspended air travel to and from India, Brazil and Argentina, citing a recent spike in coronavirus cases. “Suspending travel to and from the following countries including any person who has been in any of the mentioned countries in the last (14) days prior to their arrival to the Kingdom,” the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

The Indian carrier's tweet reads: “Air India Express Vande Bharat Mission flights would continue to carry passengers on its flights from Saudi Arabia to India. The airline would not carry passengers from India to Saudi Arabia”

Last week, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority revoked a 15-day suspension of Air India Express flights to and from Dubai that was imposed after the budget airline’s ground handling agents allowed two passengers with COVID-19 positive test results to board flights to the emirate.