Coronavirus: Flights from US to Saudi Arabia set to resume

The Saudi embassy in Washington said flights from the US to the kingdom are set to resume on a daily basis after weeks of disruptions to air traffic amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Daily flights to Jeddah and the capital Riyadh will begin to take off this week from a number of US cities. Priority seats will be given to those with more compelling reasons for travel related to the coronavirus, according to the Saudi Gazette.

Saudi Arabia has begun the second phase of its evacuation of Saudi nationals from the US. This includes the repatriation of students abroad and Saudi citizens residing in the US.

The Saudi Ambassador to the US, Princess Rima Bint Bandar, made the announcement on Wednesday in a conference call with members of the Saudi embassy.

About 3,000 Saudis considered to be in a critical or emergency situations have already been returned from the US, according to the embassy.

The move also comes despite travel restrictions put in place by the Trump administration to curb the spread of the disease.

Last month, President Donald Trump announced that immigration to the US would be suspended for 60 days in order to "protect American workers".

Trump also issued a travel ban on many European countries back in March.

The US is facing the world's worst coronavirus crises with more than 1,200,000 recorded cases and almost 73,000 deaths.