All flights of Emirates and Etihad have been moved from the Northern Gate to Terminal 1 at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah from Monday, March 29, 2021. The Kingdom’s aviation body said earlier this month that it will resume international travel and complete the opening of all airports from May 17, 2021.
However, international flights coming in from the countries that the authority has suspended travel to and from due to Covid restrictions will not be allowed to fly into Saudi Arabia. In order to ease travel for passengers, the UAE airlines — including Emirates and Etihad — as well as other Gulf carriers are running trials of digital passports. The digital passport — a certification, verification and validation system — could be an advanced form of the UAE’s Al Hosn mobile app, with not just vaccination and Covid-19 test data, but also details like pre-travel eligibility requirements for the destination. It is expected to authenticate all country travel and health regulations, manage all documentation digitally and facilitate seamless travel.