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More than 1.5 million pilgrims have already arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the country for this year’s Hajj, according to a Saudi official. This number surpasses last year’s international visitor count despite ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.
The tensions sparked by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February have led Tehran to launch multiple attacks on targets across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region. These hostilities have caused significant disruptions to air travel and a sharp increase in travel expenses.
Gulf airlines based in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain have been rapidly working to restore most of their flight operations after weeks of airspace closures and cancellations.
Despite the challenges, pilgrims continue to arrive in Saudi Arabia to take part in this year’s Hajj.
“Total arrivals from abroad have reached 1,518,153,” said Saleh Al-Murabba, head of Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Passport Forces, during a late Friday press briefing.
Expectations are that this number will grow in the next two days as more pilgrims arrive before the official start of the pilgrimage on Monday.
Last year, the total number of pilgrims at Hajj was 1,673,320, with 1,506,576 coming from outside Saudi Arabia.
Performing Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and every Muslim who is physically and financially able is required to undertake the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
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