Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has temporarily suspended all flights between Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under instructions issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia, to help limit the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The company operates 12 daily flights between Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Today, the company has canceled seven flights between Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah, and it is currently notifying the passengers who have had flights today.

Four other flights were en route to Saudi Arabia at the time of the instructions being issued. Upon the arrival of the flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, the Saudi citizens were allowed to leave the plane while the rest of the passengers remained on the plane, which will return to Abu Dhabi. The fourth flight, which is operated to Medina, will return Umrah passengers.

In addition to suspending flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has prevented Saudi citizens and residents from traveling to some countries, including the UAE, and travelers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Italy, Egypt, Korea, or transiting through them.

Etihad Airways is working with regulators in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and will continue to follow closely the situation.

For travelers affected by the cancellation of flights, procedures for refunding the ticket or changing flights are applied upon resumption of service. Etihad will continue to provide status updates as soon as any information is available.