- Airways advised to not carry pilgrims beneath age 15 on Hajj routes.
- Saudi govt assures full refunds to all affected pilgrims.
- Hajj our bodies, airways ordered to implement rule instantly.
KARACHI: Saudi Arabia has introduced a brand new restriction barring pilgrims underneath the age of 15 from coming into the Kingdom for Hajj 2026, the Ministry of Non secular Affairs and Pakistan Airports Authority mentioned on Saturday.
The restriction will take impact from Could 3, and from then onwards, as pilgrims beneath 15 years of age won’t be allowed to journey on Hajj flights. Hajj visas of all under-15 pilgrims have been revoked.
“Authorities of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has restrained the entry of underneath 15 years pilgrims in Saudi Arabia and instructed that no flight departing from any nation to Saudi Arabia shall be permitted to hold any pilgrim who can be underneath 15 years of age on twenty seventh Could 2026 (similar to ninth Zulhijjah 1447 — Day of Arafat),” the ministry mentioned in an announcement.
The Saudi authorities has assured that every one affected pilgrims will obtain a full refund of the deposited quantity, it added.
All Hajj Directorates, the Hajj Organisers Affiliation of Pakistan and airways have been directed to implement age restrictions instantly.
Hajj flight operations from Pakistan started on April 18, with the primary batch carrying 160 pilgrims departing from Karachi through a personal airline.
It’s to be famous right here that underneath the official Hajj scheme, round 119,000 pilgrims from Pakistan can be transported to Madinah and Makkah. Of those, 67,230 male pilgrims will journey to Saudi Arabia underneath the federal government programme, in accordance with the Ministry of Non secular Affairs and Interfaith Concord.
Underneath the federal government Hajj scheme, 51,846 feminine pilgrims from Pakistan will journey to the holy websites of Madinah and Makkah.
