Saudi Arabia prohibits Egyptians from booking Umrah directly

Saudi Arabia has suspended the issuance of B2C electronic visas to Egyptians for the Umrah pilgrimage after more than 1,300 people died during the Hajj due to extreme heat.

The B2C enables Umrah pilgrims to travel independently of a tour operator.

The deaths represented the worst heat-related Hajj disaster in 40 years, with temperatures reaching 51.8 degrees Celsius.

According to Saudi authorities, 83 percent of those who died were not eligible to make the pilgrimage (Hajj) and were forced to walk long distances in the blazing sun without adequate protection.

At least 658 of the fatalities were Egyptians, including 630 unregistered pilgrims, an Egyptian diplomat quoted by AFP as saying.

Basil al-Sisi of the Egyptian Travel Agents Association announced over the weekend that a category of Umrah visas – a minor pilgrimage that can be undertaken at any time of the year – had been suspended.

Sisi told Al-Masry al-Youm that the B2C visa, which previously allowed Egyptians to book package tours directly through Saudi Arabia’s online Umrah portal, had been suspended.

He said this does not mean that Egyptians cannot perform Umrah as they can still book through an official travel agent in Egypt.

Sisi said the disruption was due to deaths during the hajj this month.

“The B2C visa allows its holder to enter the system, obtain the visa and travel without a tour operator, which is unacceptable after the Hajj crisis,” he said.

Sisi said earlier this week that the suspension of the B2C Umrah visa was a temporary measure.

Commitment to protecting pilgrims

Following the deaths during the Hajj parade, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that 16 tourism companies had had their licenses revoked for allegedly allowing people to practice Hajj through illegal channels.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said Saudi authorities have a duty to protect people from extreme heat.

Hajj disaster: How more than 1,300 pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia because the authorities did not intervene

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“Outside of Hajj, they should implement heat protection measures to better protect the health of all vulnerable people. This is particularly urgent given Saudi Arabia’s plans under Vision 2030, which calls for increasing the annual number of religious pilgrims from 8 million to 30 million,” HRW said.

On Tuesday, Middle East Eye reported that Saudi authorities had arrested an Egyptian man after he posted an online video during the Hajj criticising alleged neglect that had led to the deaths of hundreds of Egyptian pilgrims.

According to a video posted online by his father, 27-year-old Islam Osama Sobhi is being held in detention in Taif after the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah handed him over to Saudi security for investigation.

MEE reported earlier this week that both registered and unregistered pilgrims suffered inadequate facilities during Hajj, including being denied access to buses and ambulances.

Saudi security sources told MEE that the actual death toll this year may be three to four times higher than reported, adding that there would be no official comment on these figures unless the deaths were accidental.

According to Saudi authorities, around 1.8 million pilgrims performed the Hajj this year, of which 1.6 million came from abroad.

The annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, is increasingly affected by climate change. A recent Saudi study found that temperatures in areas where hajj rituals are performed are rising by 0.4 degrees Celsius every decade.