SAUDIA, Saudi Arabia’s official airline, intends to provide a free four-day visa when purchasing a ticket to enter the Kingdom for tourism and allow them to perform Umrah, local media report.
Saudi Airlines’ spokesman, Abdullah Al-Shahrani, said on Wednesday that the airline would soon launch the “Your Ticket is a Visa” program, which will allow passengers on board its flights to enter Saudi Arabia for 96 hours.
Those who come to Saudi Arabia with this ticket can travel across the country and undertake Umrah. The Saudi official did not specify when the visa will be made available.
He said in an statement with the Arabic daily Okaz that when a traveler buys a ticket, they will be asked if they need a visa.
If they indicate that they do, they will be led to fill out a form and complete some procedures that will take no longer than three minutes.
He explained that the reason for providing this service is because many Islamic communities want Saudi Arabia, especially the city of Jeddah, to be a stopping point for them to conduct Umrah rituals and then continue their journey.
The new service will be available at all international airports in the country.
Meanwhile, the official stated that SAUDIA intends to increase foreign flights by 40% this year and add 500,000 seats to domestic flights.
