18680 Saudis traveled abroad within 36 hours after ban lifted

18680 Saudis traveled abroad within 36 hours after ban lifted

Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — As many as 18,680 Saudi citizens, including men and women, left the Kingdom via land borders and airports within 36 hours after the ban on international travel was lifted on May 17 (Monday), the Ministry of Interior announced on Wednesday, adding that 10,450 traveled in the first 24 hours. According to the ministry, the United Arab Emirates was the top destination for those who traveled via air, followed by Egypt, Qatar, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, 5,717 citizens departed for the neighboring countries via land border crossings. A total of 3,362 used the King Fahd Causeway to travel to Bahrain while 689 left for the UAE through the Al-Batha border crossing. As many as 673 Saudis passed through the Al-Haditha checkpoint to reach Jordan while 324 departed for Qatar crossing the Salwa checkpoint and 270 went to Kuwait using the Khafji border crossing. Saudi Arabia opened its land, sea and air borders on May 17, allowing all immunized citizens to travel outside the Kingdom. The citizens who have been permitted to travel include those who received two doses of coronavirus vaccine or those who passed 14 days after taking the first dose