Umrah pilgrims grounded at Calcutta airport

A group of 77 Umrah pilgrims on their way to Saudi Arabia were not allowed to board a flight on Thursday morning after the airline received a communication that no foreigners would be allowed to enter Mecca because of the coronavirus scare.

The pilgrims, who were to take an Emirates flight from the city to Dubai, had collected their boarding passes, completed security check and were waiting in the security hold area when they were told about the ban, airport officials said.

Emirates officials at Calcutta airport received the communication from the airline’s Dubai office on Thursday morning, sources said.

“We were about to board the flight when we were told about the travel ban issued by the Saudi Arabia government. Now we have to return home and wait for the ban to be lifted,” said Md Shajahan from Malda’s Kaliachak.