Hyderabad Umrah pilgrims stranded in Saudi Arabia amid flight cancellations

Each hour spent waiting feels like an eternity. Hours turn into days, and now a week has passed, leaving Shahajahu anxious and desperate to return home.

The 64-year-old woman, a resident of Rajendranagar in Hyderabad, has been suffering from a chronic ailment and is running out of medicine and money.

She is desperate to know just one thing: when can she fly back home to Hyderabad? Her son, Mohammed Anwar, who is accompanying her, has no answer despite hectic efforts. No one has been able to provide a timeline for her return or answer her questions.

She is one of dozens of Umrah pilgrims from Telangana and other parts of



India who are currently stranded in Saudi Arabia following the abrupt cancellation of their flights by Indian carriers amid the volatile situation in the region.

Like Shahajahu, many others from Hyderabad travelled to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah in Saudi Arabia in groups. They are staying in clusters at various hotels in the holy cities, while some are in the port city of Jeddah, the nearest major city to Makkah.

The pilgrims travelled to Saudi Arabia through various tour operators based in Hyderabad and were stranded there. Some who could afford it eventually returned home by paying high airfares to travel on Gulf-based regional airlines.