Saudi Arabia has suspended all domestic flights, passenger buses, taxi and passenger trains for a period of 14 days starting at 6 am Saturday (March 21) as part of its efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), a Saudi Press Agency report said.

 

Flights related to humanitarian and necessary cases, medical evacuation aircraft and private aviation will be exempted. The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) will issue the necessary permits for flights in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Health.

 

Buses of government agencies or public or private health facilities, and commercial establishments transporting their employees, or that are used for health, humanitarian or security purposes will be exempted.

 

Taxis operating the service provided in airports for air transport, as estimated by GACA and the activity of transporting individuals is limited to special vehicles working with applications.

The Public Transport Authority (PTA) will coordinate with the Ministry of Interior, the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), and other relevant authorities to urgently block the violating applications of passengers transport, the report said.

 

The security authorities will follow up the suspending of buses and taxis operating until the suspension period ends.

 

The train services suspended include Riyadh-Dammam railroad through Abqaiq and Hofuf, the Riyadh- Al-Jouf railroad through the Majmaah, Qassim and Hail, and the Haramain high-speed railway. However, commercial transport trains, including the freight train between King Abdulaziz Port in Dammam and the Riyadh Dry Port and the mining train of the Saudi Railways Company (SAR) will continue.

 

Transport ferries between Jizan and Farasan Island will continue, while reducing the number of passengers to 100 people per trip, taking into account the employees and residents of Farasan Island. Tourists will not be alllowed to travel through them.

 

Cargo vessels will continue to operate according to their usual programme, taking all precautionary and preventive measures in accordance with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health to reduce infection transmission.

 

The suspension would not include the various means of transportation related to vital sectors such as health, services and basic commodities such as food, energy, water and communications, etc., air freight and necessary security transfers, and this be based on estimations of the committee concerned with dealing of the novel Coronavirus, taking into consideration all necessary precautions, it said.