Manama: Saudi Arabia said there was no ban on Qatari nationals or foreign residents of Qatar performing Umrah.
“Despite the fact that intransigent Qatari authorities do not allow citizens and residents of Qatar to perform Haj and Umrah, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah welcomes the Qatari brothers to perform Umrah after they register upon arrival at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah,” the ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Tuesday.
“With regard to expatriates in Qatar who want to perform Umrah, they can register their data on the Ministry’s website. They can electronically finalise their contract with the accredited Saudi Umrah companies and select their service package.”
The procedures are applied with all people who arrive in Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, the ministry said.
Those from Qatar planning to perform Umrah during Ramadan must land in Jeddah and can fly with any airline, except Qatar Airways, the ministry added.
The Qatari airline has been banned from flying to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt after the four countries on June 5 last year severed their diplomatic, trade and travel relations with Qatar.
The Quartet accused Qatar of supporting extremists and funding terrorism and issued a 13-point list that Doha must meet in order to solve the crisis.
However, Qatar has rejected the accusations and the list, resulting in a stalemate.
Qatar has repeatedly said that Saudi Arabia was banning its citizens and residents from reaching Makkah to perform Haj or Umrah.
The Saudi authorities have insisted there was no ban on Qataris or Qatar residents and explained that since there was no direct flight between Doha and Jeddah, they had to take other routes to reach the airport at the Red Sea city.
Makkah has no airport and all travellers land in Jeddah, 70 kilometres away.
Prior to the breaking off of diplomatic and travel relations, Qataris could drive overland to Makkah. However, the Salwa border checkpoint between Saudi Arabia and Qatar has been shut down.
