HAJJ 2026: PILGRIM NUMBERS SURGE TO OVER 1.5 MILLION DESPITE MIDDLE EAST WAR
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By ‘Sefiu Ajape
More than 1.5 million pilgrims have arrived in Saudi Arabia from outside the kingdom ahead of this year’s hajj, according to Saudi authorities, surpassing last year’s international arrival figures despite tensions in the Middle East.
The conflict triggered by the US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February led Tehran to launch waves of strikes on targets in Saudi Arabia and across the Gulf, causing widespread air traffic disruptions and a sharp increase in travel costs.
Major Gulf airlines in the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain have since moved to restore much of their operations following weeks of airspace closures and flight cancellations.
Despite the challenges, pilgrims have continued arriving in large numbers for the annual Islamic pilgrimage.
“The total number of pilgrims arriving from abroad has reached 1,518,153,” Saleh Al-Murabba, commander of Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Passport Forces, told a press conference late Friday.
The figures are expected to increase further over the next two days as more pilgrims arrive ahead of the formal commencement of hajj rites on Monday.
Last year, the total number of pilgrims recorded during hajj stood at 1,673,320, including 1,506,576 international pilgrims.
Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a religious obligation that every Muslim with the financial and physical ability is expected to perform at least once in their lifetime.
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