EgyptAir to Operate 9 Flights to Bring back 2, 060 Egyptian Pilgrims

On Monday, EgyptAir announced that it will operate nine flights  on Tuesday to bring back 2060 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia.

In a statement, the national carrier said six flights will be operated from Jeddah to Cairo, including a flight to Borg El Arab and three flights from Madina to Cairo.

Slightly over 35,000 Egyptians performed their Hajj rituals this year.

In 2020, the pandemic prompted Saudi authorities to allow only 1,000 domestic pilgrims to participate in the yearly Hajj — one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. The number; however, increased to 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents chosen through a lottery in 2021.

This year, Saudi Arabia allowed a total of 899,353 pilgrims to perform the rituals, 119,434 of which are from inside the kingdom.

However, the number is still lower than pre-pandemic rates. Some 2.5 Muslims participated in 2019’s Hajj season.

All able Muslims are required to perform a Hajj — one of the five pillars of Islam — once in their lifetime. The Hajj consists of a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city, Mecca, and the surrounding areas of western Saudi Arabia.