JEDDAH, 19 November 2005 — A large number of foreign pilgrims, who came for Umrah during Ramadan, have been stranded at Saudi airports and seaports as a result of delay in the arrival of their return flights and ships. Many of them have lost their tickets.

Deputy Haj Minister Dr. Eissa Al-Rawas said the number of cases of stranding was very low this year compared with previous years, despite a 14 percent increase in the number of pilgrims who came for Umrah this season.

He said the drop in the number of cases was achieved as a result of coordination with King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah Islamic Port and Yanbu Commercial Port to ensure quick return of pilgrims.

“We have also set up special panels to find immediate solutions to the problems facing pilgrims,” he added.

Abdul Qader Al-Jabarti, owner of an Umrah company, contested the minister’s argument and said squatting pilgrims at the Jeddah airport and seaport was still an unresolved problem. “I don’t think we can solve this problem completely as we see this phenomenon at the end of every Haj and Umrah season,” he pointed out.

He said the Umrah companies alone should not be held responsible for the delay in the departure of pilgrims. “There are many pilgrims who wanted to stay on after Umrah to perform Haj or find jobs. So how can they hold us responsible for overstaying pilgrims?” he queried.

According to figures issued by the Statistics Department of the Ministry of Economy and Planning, 425,000 Umrah pilgrims outstayed their visas last year. Majdi Al-Marae, owner of an Umrah company, said most of these pilgrims overstayed to perform Haj. “These people cause unwanted congestion in the holy sites.”

Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, who works at Jeddah airport, said he noticed a considerable decrease in the number of pilgrims sleeping in the courtyards and pathways of the airport. Many pilgrims were stranded because of the negligence of airline companies that brought them.

Hani Sadek, an Egyptian who was stranded at the Jeddah port along with hundreds of other pilgrims, said they were the victims of a shipping company, which did not keep to its schedule.

Nigerian Suleiman Haroon had another story to tell. His travel agency told him that he would be able to stay on in the Kingdom until Haj. “Later on I realized that I was cheated, because it’s against the law.”

Two other pilgrims said the travel agents promised them jobs.

Hundreds of pilgrims, mostly Indians and Pakistanis, lost their air tickets this year after submitting them to Umrah companies on arrival at Jeddah airport. The Umrah companies later claimed that the tickets were stolen.

Muhammad Jahanghir Khan, an executive of an Umrah company in Jeddah, confirmed that tickets of some 200 Indian pilgrims have been stolen. “We have re-issued their tickets paying SR190 to Air-India,” he said, adding that most of them had returned to their country. He also pointed out that five of their pilgrims had lost their passports. “We are trying to get outpasses for them from the Indian Consulate,” he explained.

Fahd Al-Nusani, supervisor of client service department at Al-Tasheel Company, which is authorized to receive pilgrims, said his company was not responsible for the lost passports or tickets. “This matter will be addressed by the Haj Ministry in association with the Umrah companies,” he told Arab News.