Saudi Arabian Airlines has agreed to operate exceptional commercial flights to allow British nationals and their families to return to the United Kingdom, according to a British embassy message sent by e-mail late on Friday.

The airline will operate flights in the week starting March 29 2020 from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam to London’s Heathrow Airport and additional flights if required, it said.

All British Nationals in Saudi Arabia who have registered have now been sent an email about flights to the UK this week. If you have not yet registered, please contact KSA.Info@fco.gov.uk with your details (name, email address, mobile telephone number, current location, visa type held and any other relevant information) as soon as possible. Please also contact KSA.Info@fco.gov.uk for any questions or queries.

This was after Saudi had announced on Sunday, March 15 2020 that all international flights had been suspended for two weeks. As it described, this was a preventive and precautionary measure recommended by health authorities, as part of Saudis efforts to control COVID-19. Aside from some “exceptional cases,” the country banned all international flights. Those exceptional cases included flights that flew home Saudi nationals who may have been stuck elsewhere in the world. Those passengers were then subjected to a quarantine period. Saudi Arabia only recently started issuing tourist visas, and those have been suspended as well.

Global aviation really is coming to a standstill, as we’re increasingly seeing countries close borders. While most countries seem to be adding restrictions for about two weeks, it’s anyone’s guess how long this will actually last, given that it’s a developing situation.