Saudi Arabia extends ban on Umrah pilgrims

KARACHI: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday extended a ban on entry of Umrah pilgrims from various countries including Pakistan till March 31 as the Saudi Airline has issued directives for cancelling all air tickets until the set deadline, ARY NEWS reported.

According to a circular issued on Tuesday, the airline said that the ban would include those travelling on Umrah and tourist visa from the country owing to the ongoing situation created after the global outbreak of coronavirus and reports of five virus-infected cases from the country.

The countries other than Pakistan that would come under the ban included China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan and others.

It asked the airline to waive off ticket penalties and refund the entire ticket amount. The passengers were asked to refrain from visiting airports to avoid inconvenience and contact Saudi Airline Sales Support centre for the refund.

The airline has conveyed the directives for cancellation of all tickets to airport station managers at major country’s airports including the ones in Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.

Only those possessing iqama and business and family visit visa could travel to the kingdom until the deadline.

On February 27, several pilgrims were offloaded by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and other private airlines, following the temporary ban on Umrah pilgrims by Saudi Arabia in an attempt to ensure public safety by preventing the spread of coronavirus.

The passengers were offloaded by from the flights at various airports of the country. A Jeddah-bound flight of the PIA, PK-747 carrying 133 Umrah pilgrims was stopped from take-off from the Karachi airport. Notices have been placed at the various airports in this context.