Garuda Indonesia Cancels Flights to Saudi Arabia

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has cancelled flights to Saudi Arabia which has imposed a ban on international flights for a week following the discovery of a new Covid-19 strain known as SARS-CoV-2 in Great Britain.

Garuda Indonesia announced that the cancellation will take place immediately on Monday, December 21. “Garuda Indonesia will cancel flight GA 9802 to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, due to travel restrictions imposed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

The Arab News media outlet reported that Saudi Arabia applied the ban on Monday, December 21.

Also read: Tourism Ministry to Persuade 7M Indonesians to Skip Overseas Travel

Saudi Arabia also closed its harbors and overland routes to passengers, but not commodities or exports from countries afflicted by the new Covid-19 strain.

Thousands of Indonesian Muslims head to Saudi Arabia annually to carry out the major hajj pilgrimage or the minor umrah pilgrimage. 

Meanwhile, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the discovery of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain in Great Britain will not change Indonesia’s stance on foreign travelers going to and from the country.

“The [Indonesian] government has not authorized foreign citizens from entering Indonesia, other than those on essential travel,” said Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah.

Also read: Indonesia Airlines Industry Lost Nearly 70M Passengers due to Covid-19

He did not say whether Indonesia will follow suit with other countries which banned travel to and from Great Britain.

To date, France, Germany and other European Union countries, as well as Switzerland, Canada and Turkey, have curtailed flights to and from Great Britain following the discovery of the new Covid-19 strain.

To date, Indonesia agreed to open links with such countries as South Korea, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates for essential business travelers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

(Writers: Akhdi Martin Pratama, Tsarina Maharani | Editors: Yoga Sukmana, Icha Rastika)

Sources: 

https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/12/21/125038726/garuda-indonesia-batalkan-penerbangan-ke-jeddah. 

https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2020/12/21/13525791/sejumlah-negara-stop-penerbangan-ke-inggris-kemenlu-pemerintah-belum-buka.