KUALA LUMPUR: At least 800 Malaysian pilgrims are stranded in Jeddah and Madinah, Saudi Arabia after the Kingdom banned outbound and inbound flights as part of measures to deal with the Covid-19 outbreak.
A Malaysian pilgrim who is currently in Madinah, Azmir Mohamad, 28, said that he was supposed to board a 10pm flight last night, but it was cancelled.
He and his group were scheduled to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 12.55pm today.
“No official statement was issued by the airline company, and we have no choice but to seek information from other sources, including airline staff.
“This is regrettable, because the airline company should have used social media, which is a speedy platform, to channel information on the cancellation of flights,” he said.
He added that as of 7.30pm yesterday (Madinah time), there was still no word on when they would be able to board a flight home.
Another pilgrim who wanted to be known only as Mohamad Lutfi said that the situation was made worse by the agency’s disorganisation and poor communication methods.
“Everything is in a mess and there is no system. They have failed to tackle something as simple as communication, and all of us are lost because we are not given any information on the status of the flight.
“We are placed at a hotel near the previous one we stayed at without being informed of alternative flights. This is leading to tension between the pilgrims and personnel on duty, but the situation was resolved,” he said.
The Saudi Arabian government suspended the entry of all foreign nationals, including umrah pilgrims, on Thursday in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19.