Egypt: Huge drop in Umrah traffic

Muhammad Humaidan | Arab News

Sunday 17 May 2009

JEDDAH: Umrah visas are not being issued to pilgrims from Egypt and Malaysia as a precautionary measure to tackle swine flu, said an official from the company that handles pilgrims in the Kingdom. “The ban on pilgrims from countries where cases of swine flu have surfaced has resulted in a considerable fall in the number of pilgrims coming in recent days,” said Mahmoud Abul Majd, director of the computer department at Tasheel United Company. “Only 3,000 pilgrims arrived yesterday, while 10,000 pilgrims used to arrive daily until a few days ago,” he added. The Ministry of Haj issued more than 1.6 million visas for the present Umrah season that began on Jan. 14. Over the past three months, 1.3 million people have come to the Kingdom for Umrah, Abul Majd said. Abul Majd commended various regulations in place to streamline the influx of pilgrims in large numbers. “The huge numbers of pilgrims arriving at various entry points daily do not cause any hassles in the inflow or exit of pilgrims as they are controlled by the systematic implementation of the regulations.” He said the Prince Muhammad Airport in Madinah receives about 4,000 Umrah pilgrims daily, whereas the foreign terminal of the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah receives 3,000 and the Saudia terminal 2,000.