Gulf News

Dubai, London, Cairo top Eid destinatio­ns for people in Kuwait

208,000 Kuwaitis and expatriate­s travelled for festive holidays from the country

- BY HABIB TOUMI Bureau Chief

Dubai, Turkey, Cairo and London top the destinatio­n list of the 208,000 people living in Kuwait who are spending the Eid holidays abroad, director-general of Civil Aviation Yusuf Al Fawzan has said.

“We have taken all the precaution­s to deal with the high number of people at the airport,” he said.

“There are many volunteers who are assisting, especially women.”

A new 5 dinar service to deliver luggage home is also being provided for inbound passengers as part of initiative­s to improve standards at the airport, he added, Kuwaiti daily Al Anba reported.

Kuwaitis in the public sector are off until June 19. The same five-day holiday will also be enjoyed by employees in the public sector in Bahrain since two extra days were added in lieu of Friday and Saturday.

Bahrain compensate­s off days that fall on the weekend.

In Saudi Arabia, the holidays were extended from June 20 to June 24 upon orders from King Salman.

Saudi women drivers

With the Saudi football team playing in the World Cup and the possibilit­y of women driving, positive feelings laced with patriotism are prevailing in the country.

The return to work of public employees and military staff will coincide with the implementa­tion of the decision to allow women to drive for the first time in the history of Saudi Arabia.

The decision was announced in September, but a grace period was granted to allow the competent authoritie­s to prepare the logistics, including driving schools and massive awareness campaigns, for a smooth applicatio­n.

Hundreds of women have already received their Saudi licences, either by applying for the first time and passing the exam or by showing their foreign permits and passing the driving test.

With the Saudi football team playing in the World Cup in Moscow and the possibilit­y for women to drive soon, positive feelings laced with a high sense of patriotism are prevailing in the country.

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