30,000 Jordanians await repayment for cancelled umrah trips

AMMAN — Since Saudi authorities placed a temporary ban on entry for umrah (the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca), the trips of around 30,000 Jordanians have been cancelled, according to the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents (JSTA). 

The Saudi authorities' decision is effective until the end of March, Feisal Mirzi, who heads the religious committee at the JSTA, told The Jordan Times on Tuesday over the phone.

Saudi authorities announced that those whose trips were cancelled will be reimbursed, Mirzi said, adding that the mechanism for reimbursement is yet to be announced.

Mirzi reaffirmed that the Saudi authorities have been "very cooperative", but need time to process financial and managerial matters before reimbursing Jordanians who booked trips for umrah. He noted that, as soon as the system is announced, the JSTA will immediately alert people to contact their travel agents. 

Earlier in March, 15,000 Jordanians, Palestinians and Iraqis who travelled to Saudi Arabia to perform umrah were unable to return when buses were prohibited from entering Saudi territory.

However, after talks between the JSTA and the Saudi embassy in Amman, the Saudi authorities were "very cooperative" and allowed empty buses to enter to bring them back, Mirzi said, noting that the last batch of umrah performers arrived in the Kingdom on Saturday. 

At the end of February, the Saudi authorities had announced a temporary ban on pilgrims performing umrah as part of measures by the kingdom to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

At the time, all flights were suspended and all buses carrying pilgrims returned to Jordan after being denied entry at the Saudi borders.