The head of the airline’s public relations office, Hossein Jahani, said, “Iran Air will take about 40,000 pilgrims in 158 flights to Jeddah and Medina airports, in Saudi Arabi8a, for this year’s pilgrimage.”
Saudi Arabia lifted this year some of the coronavirus-related restrictions on the Hajj after two years.
The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced in a statement last month it would permit one million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this year’s hajj, a sharp uptick after the massively downsized pilgrimage for the past two years.
It also said this year’s Hajj is open to pilgrims under 65 years of age and those from abroad are required to submit a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours from the time of departure.
