Saudi’s Corona alert: 170 Mecca pilgrims stopped at city airport

The Saudi Arabian Airlines flight to Jeddah was scheduled to depart from Chennai airport at 12.15 pm. Sources said that 170 of the 258 passengers booked on the flight were Umrah pilgrims. The rest were transit passengers.

When all the passengers were waiting to board the flight after immigration clearance, the CISF and immigration officials announced that the passengers visiting Umrah cannot board the flight.

After the announcement, the pilgrims surrounded the officials and argued with them. The officials informed them that the Saudi government won’t allow foreigners to enter their country amid the Coronavirus scare. The passengers argued that the Saudi government had approved their visas for Umrah.

Later, higher officials visited the passengers with a copy of the Saudi government’s order and explained to them that it came to the airport only after 11 am. They said that people from India could not travel to Saudi following the Coronavirus attack. After the explanation, the pilgrims left the airport dejected and the flight departed to Jeddah with 88 transit passengers.