Abu Dhabi: The UAE authorities have helped a group of Emirati Haj pilgrims stranded at a Saudi airport without the required permits to perform the Haj, a top UAE official told Gulf News on Monday.
Around 100 Haj pilgrims were stuck at Jeddah airport in Saudi Arabia on Sunday as they did not have a Haj permit that Saudi Arabia issues to perform Haj, said Mohammad Obaid Al Mazroui, Executive Director of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf), and the head of the Haj Mission and Haj Affairs.
The issue was sorted out after communication between the UAE and Saudi Authorities, he said.
Following the report of stranded pilgrims, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Authority sent a delegation to Saudi Arabia, which discussed the matter with Saudi authorities.
A sick older man in the group was given immediate medical help.
The official said the pilgrims were stuck because they did not follow the proper procedures to get the Haj permit. He cautioned that pilgrims must apply for a Haj permit through an agency registered in the UAE. But the group had applied through an agency that was not registered in the UAE.
Saudi Arabia authorities issue Haj permits with a code to each pilgrim based on the quota allocated to each country.
The UAE has a quota for 4,982 pilgrims this year, which was fairly distributed among the agencies registered in the UAE, Al Mazroui said.
Following the intervention of the UAE authorities, the stranded pilgrims have proceeded to perform Haj without any further problems.
All other Haj pilgrims from the UAE are also proceeding to perform the Haj, he said.
No untoward incidents have been reported so far.
The official representatives of the UAE are making all arrangements for the pilgrims. They visited Madinah on Monday and will go to Makkah on Tuesday.
The camps for pilgrims at Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa are fully equipped, Al Mazroui said.
