More than 1.5 million pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia have arrived in the kingdom for this year’s Haj pilgrimage, surpassing last year’s international arrival figures despite ongoing tensions and conflict in the Middle East.
According to Saudi officials, the regional conflict sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February led Tehran to launch multiple strikes targeting Saudi Arabia and Gulf states. The escalation disrupted regional air travel, resulting in flight cancellations, airspace closures, and higher travel costs.
However, major Gulf carriers based in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain gradually restored much of their flight operations after weeks of disruption.
Despite these challenges, pilgrims have continued travelling to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage.
“The total number of pilgrims arriving from abroad has reached 1,518,153,” Saleh Al-Murabba said during a press conference on Friday night.
Officials expect the number to increase further over the coming days as pilgrims continue arriving ahead of the official start of Haj rituals on Monday.
Last year, the overall number of Haj pilgrims stood at 1,673,320, including 1,506,576 international pilgrims.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is obligatory at least once in a lifetime for Muslims who are physically and financially able to perform it.
