Riyadh: Saudi's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has denounced a fake circular suggesting Saudi Arabia will resume international flights in October as “completely baseless and fabricated”
The circular, which has been doing the rounds on social media platforms in recent weeks, came without any official statement from GACA, which denied announcing the resumption of international flights.
The kingdom suspended international flights on March 15 in a bid to contain the spread of the Novel Coronavirus disease.
It restarted domestic flights restarted on May 31 and when the bogus GACA circular was shared on various social media platforms it sparked a flurry of speculation.
The circular, titled “No flights till October 2020,” said: “An employee of the GACA has stated in a recent interview that all international flights to and from the Kingdom are to remain suspended till the month of October.”
Quoting a GACA official, the circular said that the decision was subject to the number of coronavirus cases, which must “come down to three digits.”
GACA official spokesman Ibrahim bin Abdullah Alrwosa told Arab News the circular “is completely baseless and fabricated”, and shared a tweet from GACA's public relations department describing the circular as incorrect.
The civil aviation authority has previously said there is no specific date for the resumption of international flights, he added and all international flights remain suspended until further notice.
Saudi has made exceptions for humanitarian assistance and emergency cases, medical evacuation flights and repatriation of stranded citizens and expatriates wanting to return home.
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