COVID-19: Full vaccination mandatory for domestic passengers in Saudi Arabia from Sunday

Cairo: Saudi civil aviation authorities have said that full vaccination against COVID-19 will be mandatory for boarding domestic flights starting from Sunday.

The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has issued a related circular to all airlines operating at the kingdom’s airports including private flights.

The new measure will not apply to categories exempted from taking the vaccine as shown on the health Tawakkalna app, according to GACA.

The agency said it will take legal action against violators.

Earlier this week, the Saudi Interior Ministry said that starting from October 10, obtaining two doses of vaccines approved in Saudi Arabia will be a condition for attending any economic, commercial, academic, cultural, entertainment, sports or tourism event in the country.

The  inoculation will also be compulsory for entering government or private institutions, using public transport and boarding planes.

The vaccines now recognised in Saudi Arabia are Oxford-AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, Sinopharm, and Sinovac.

Over 42 million doses of vaccines have been administered in the kingdom since mass vaccinations against COVID-19 kicked off there in December.