Saudi suspends Umrah visas for UAE residents' travel plans

Tour buses from Sharjah to Saudi had to shy away from the border.

Travel plans of numerous UAE citizens to Saudi Arabia have come to a screeching halt following Saudi Arabia's decision to briefly suspended visas for pilgrims wishing to go to the holy city of Makkah over coronavirus fears.

Several tour operators have said this is mostly a busy time for Umrah pilgrimages, especially because the Holy Month of Ramadan is a little over a month away. Reuters also pronounced Emirates restricted boarding on flights to Saudi Arabia in compliance with the Kingdom's Foreign Affairs Ministry directive.

Saudi Arabia's overseas ministry stated it changed into also suspending visas for travelers journeying from countries where the new virus is a "danger".

The government have also suspended the usage of the national identity card to tour to and from the Kingdom via Saudi nationals and Gulf citizens, so as for the concerned government on the entry factors to verify from which nations traffic came before their arrival to the Kingdom, and apply health precautions to cope with the ones coming from the ones countries.

However, Saudi Arabia affirmed that these processes are transient, and subject to non-stop assessment by way of the competent authorities. Muzaffar Hashim, the manager at Al Deyafa For Hajj and Umrah said, "We are assisting passengers by means of issuing cancellations, specifically flight tickets. However, there's no readability on how long this suspension may want to last."

Tour buses from Sharjah needed to turn away from the border

Tour buses to Saudi organised by means of Al Farooq Hajj and Umrah tour operators in Sharjah told Khaleej Times that buses which departed from Sharjah to Makkah after 5pm on Wednesday, February 27, had to go back from the border.

Moahmmed Affan Zakir, an employee at Al Farooq Hajj and Umrah stated, "Buses that left at 12pm from Sharjah were able to move the border."

Many tour operators are running with airways to refund air ticket fees; however, operators are unsure if the visa expenses may be refunded as well. Some passengers who had flights to KSA early Thursday morning were not capable of board their flights and needed to return from the airport.

Devika Vinayak, one such passenger who had a flydubai flight to Riyadh early Thursday morning to wait an event said, "My flight to Riyadh was early this morning. I could not board the flight because it had been simplest four hours since the transient suspension turned into positioned into place."

'It's an excellent selection,'

While some residents have expressed their disappointment over the selection, several have welcomed the choice because it continues the protection and wellness of pilgrims in mind.

My own family and I had made bookings for journey subsequent week. However, we don't know yet if we should cancel due to the fact what if the suspension is quickly removed."