MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP): Over 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the kingdom for the upcoming haj season, according to a Saudi official, exceeding the number of international visitors last year despite the war in the Middle East.
The conflict triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February saw Tehran order waves of strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, prompting widespread air traffic disruptions and causing travel costs to surge.
Major Gulf airlines in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain have worked to quickly restore much of their operational capacity after weeks of airspace closures and flight cancellations.
Despite the complications, pilgrims have continued to flock to Saudi Arabia to participate in this year's haj.
"The total number of pilgrims arriving from abroad has reached 1,518,153," Saleh Al-Murabba, the commander of Saudi Arabia's Hajj Passport Forces, told a press conference late Friday.
These figures are expected to rise further over the next two days as pilgrims continue to arrive from abroad ahead of the formal rituals that mark the beginning of the hajj on Monday.
Last year, the total number of pilgrims at the haj reached 1,673,320, including 1,506,576 from outside Saudi Arabia.
The haj, one of the five pillars of Islam, must be performed at least once by all Muslims with the means. -- AFP
