PIA tickets become scarce as Saudi Arabia ease down travel restrictions

As soon as the KSA authorities granted permission to operate flights to Saudi Arabia, the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) tickets became scarce as passengers rushed outside the PIA Islamabad office.

As per details, PIA started booking from September 15, but passengers are facing problems as the reservation department has very few tickets.

This comes as Saudi Arabia announced that it will partially lift its suspension of international flights as of Sept. 15 to allow "exceptional categories" of citizens and residents to travel. The kingdom will scrap all travel restrictions on air, land, and sea transport for citizens on Jan. 1, 2021.

Meanwhile, passengers say that the staff is not cooperating whereas, travel agents are selling tickets in Black for Rs 150,000.

PIA CEO Arshad Malik took notice of the matter and directed strict action on the recovery of an additional fare. According to the PIA spokesperson, the fare of PIA ticket including tax is Rs 84,000 which includes the commission of agents.

GCC citizens and non-Saudi residents with valid residency, or visitors' visas will be allowed to enter the kingdom as of Sept. 15 conditional on proving they are Covid-19 negative.