COVID-19: Saudi Arabia facilitates expats’ return home

Cairo: Saudi authorities said that all foreign residents can register online in an initiative aimed at facilitating air travel for foreigners wishing to return to their home countries.

The Interior Ministry announced that all nationalities can register in the Awdah (return) initiative recently launched for foreign residents holding visas of exit and return, final exit, different types of visit as well as the tourist visas by applying via the electronic platform “Absher” to fly home, according to the Saudi news agency SPA.

The ministry added that access to the initiative is gained by logging onto the icon “Awdah” on the “Absher” platform and filling the following fields: the Iqama number; the birth date; the mobile number; the departure city; and the arrival airport.

Applicants should not necessarily have an “Absher” account, an exception aimed at facilitating foreign residents to benefit from the service, according to the ministry.

Departure airports in the kingdom will be the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah; the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh; the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam; and the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Medina following approval from countries to take their own citizens.

The “Awdah” initiative is conducted in cooperation with several Saudi government bodies including the Foreign Ministry, the Haj and Umrah Ministry, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the National Information Centre, the General Authority of Civil Aviation and the national carrier Saudia as well as security agencies in the kingdom, SPA reported.

In March, Saudi Arabia suspended international flights to and from the country as part of a raft of strict measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.