Etihad Airways is resuming flights to Medina after they had been suspended for 19 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.
From November 27, 2021, travellers will be able to fly from Abu Dhabi to Medina with Etihad. The UAE’s national airline will be operating flights from the UAE’s capital to the holy city three times a week, with resumed services operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flight time is about three hours.
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The flight route to Medina, Saudia Arabia was stopped back in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and resulting travel restrictions.
Fatma Al Mehairi, vice president sales UAE at Etihad Airways, said: “We look forward to reconnecting Abu Dhabi with Madinah, a city of enormous historic and religious significance for Muslims around the world. Our flights will support the growing demand for religious travel and strengthen the existing air links between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, a key travel market for Etihad Airways.”
When flights to Medina resume at the end of November, Etihad will be operating routes from the UAE to four destinations in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
Air Arabia and flydubia’s flights to Medina were also temporarily suspended in light of COVID-19.
Medina is a major Islamic pilgrimage site and place of the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi (Prophet’s Mosque).
In October, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior announced the easing of COVID-19 rules in the kingdom, including it no longer being mandatory to wear a mask in open spaces if you’re double vaxxed by an approved vaccination in the kingdom. Masks must still be worn indoors.
Additionally, the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina and Makkah’s Grand Holy Mosque removed their caps on visitors.
As of this writing, non-resident passengers travelling to Saudi Arabia do not have to quarantine if they have been fully vaccinated by one of the vaccines approved in the kingdom, including Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
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