Wednesday, March 16, 2022

KUWAIT CITY, March 16: The decision of the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to lift the precautionary measures and restrictions for Umrah has revived ticket reservations for departure to the holy land on various national and Gulf airlines, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to informed sources from the travel and tourism sector, there is an increased demand for flights destined to Saudi Arabia following the decision to cancel the registration of COVID-19 vaccination data to obtain a Umrah permit for those coming from outside Saudi Arabia, to cancel the submission of an approved PCR test, to cancel the institutional and home quarantine, and to cancel the inspection of status of vaccination for entering the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet’s (PBUH) Mosque in Madinah. These decisions have contributed to an increase in the number of passengers and flights departing to both Jeddah and Madinah.

There is a demand of up to 30 percent in the movement of passengers to Umrah destinations compared to the previous periods. Regarding ticket prices, the sources stated that prices are affordable for everyone, as they range between KD 120 and KD 150 for a round-trip ticket to Jeddah and Madinah. They indicated that the total number of fl ights that departed to the holy land in the last two days amounted to about 31, including 25 fl ights to Jeddah and six to Madinah.

The sources added that the number of passengers departing to Saudi Arabia in the last three days would have reached more than 3,500 citizens and residents

Source: https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/scramble-for-umrah-as-saudi-eases-entry/