In the wake of ongoing war in the Middle East, a large-scale air travel disruption has occurred and this situation has impacted Pakistani pilgrims and travellers in Middle East, specifically Umrah pilgrims in the western region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In line with the government of Pakistan guidelines, Pakistan embassy Riyadh and Consulate General of Pakistan in Jeddah have established round the clock helplines and teams are available at regional airports to assist and facilitate Pakistani travellers impacted by flight schedule disruption.
The situation of Pakistani pilgrims/travellers in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah is stable and the airspace in this sector is mostly open with some operational restrictions and risk advisories due to the regional conflict.
Pakistan missions are in continuous contact with Umrah agencies and airline carriers to resolve the issues faced by Umrah pilgrims in terms of rescheduling cancelled flights and provision of accommodation by concerned agencies/parties till the rescheduled flights. The Pakistan embassy and Consulate General are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with relevant Saudi authorities to facilitate timely and necessary support and information sharing.
About 160 stranded Pakistani passengers have been facilitated at various airports in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the last two days.