A Saudi Airline has resumed flights for Iranian pilgrims for the first time since 2015, an AFP reports says citing a Saudi official.
“Flynas resumed Iranian pilgrims flights from Imam Khomeini (International Airport) in Tehran on Saturday” the unnamed Saudi Civil Aviation Authority official told AFP. He explained that the airline will operate similar flights to and from Mashhad Airport in the northeastern city.
This year’s Hajj season begins in the first week of June, and international pilgrims have already begun arriving at the holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
The official said the Saudi airline will operate approximately 225 flights until 1 July, carrying more than 35,000 Iranian pilgrims, stressing that the flights are “for pilgrims only and not commercial”.
Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations in March 2023, under a surprise agreement brokered by China, ending a diplomatic rift that began in January 2016.
Riyadh severed ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters burnt the Saudi embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad, following Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr.
Iranians could not perform pilgrimage that year due to the two countries’ failure to agree on a protocol to regulate their travel. However, the following year, Iranians were able to perform the annual ritual but not Umrah.
