Saudi urges Muslims to defer hajj plans over virus
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia's hajj minister has asked Muslims to temporarily defer preparations for the annual pilgrimage amid uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended the year-round "umrah" pilgrimage over fears of the new coronavirus spreading to Islam's holiest cities, an unprecedented move that raised uncertainty over the annual hajj.
"Saudi Arabia is fully ready to serve pilgrims and umrah seekers," hajj minister Mohammad Benten told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya television on Tuesday.
"But under the current circumstances, as we are talking about the global pandemic... the kingdom is keen to protect the health of Muslims and citizens and so we have asked our brother Muslims in all countries to wait before doing (hajj) contracts until the situation is clear."
Saudi authorities are yet to announce whether they will proceed with this year's hajj, scheduled for the end of July.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia suspended prayers inside all its mosques except the two holiest sites in Islam as it increased efforts to contain the new coronavirus.
Saudi Arabia is scrambling to limit the spread of the disease at home. The kingdom's health ministry has reported 1,563 coronavirus infections and 10 deaths from the illness so far.
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Etihad Airways resumes operations with eight passenger flights from Abu Dhabi; two bound for India
Abu Dhabi: Days after air operations were disrupted due to airspace closure, Etihad Airways reportedly resumed limited operations on Monday, with eight passenger flights taking off from Abu Dhabi International Airport at 2:00 pm (GMT 11:00), according to global flight tracking service Flightradar24.
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Flight tracking data showed that a total of eight passenger services departed from Abu Dhabi after 2:00 pm local time. Of these, one flight was bound for Delhi and another for Mumbai. The remaining flights were reported to have resumed operations to their respective destinations.
Air traffic in the region had been disrupted following rising tensions in the Middle East after a joint US-Israeli attack on Iran.
8 passenger flights have been able to take off from Abu Dhabi since 14:00 local time. pic.twitter.com/4eYs3ReJaJ
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 2, 2026
