New Umrah age limit disappoints Egyptians

New Umrah age limit disappoints Egyptians Galal Fakkar | Arab News

JEDDAH: Over 110,000 potential pilgrims from Egypt are unable to come to the Kingdom for Umrah due to new age restrictions placed by the Egyptian authorities. Naser Turk, deputy chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Chamber, said a recent decision to limit people below the age of 25 years from coming to Umrah has deprived more than 110,000 applicants from securing Umrah visas. Turk said the applicants had completed their forms and that their applications were approved prior to the decision being made. They were, however, denied visas because of the subsequent decision. He added that the directive issued by the Ministerial Committee, which was formed to follow up on the latest development of swine flu, would reduce the number of Egyptian pilgrims this year by 35 percent compared to last year. He said that many Egyptian families were forced to cancel their Umrah trips after receiving their visas because some of their family members were below 25 or over 65. He added that the number of pilgrims unable to travel abroad, either because they are over 65 or below 25, is in the thousands not hundreds as many have speculated. A number of Egyptian tour operators who have come to the Kingdom said the industry has been hit as many operators are left in difficult positions as they have far too many empty rooms. Muhammad Al-Shayr, owner of one of the biggest tourism and travel companies in Egypt that organizes Haj and Umrah tours, said that the fast developments in banning pilgrims with visas who are younger than 25 or over 65 has confused the industry and caused confusion. "To their disappointment, some pilgrims are coming to Cairo from distant places only to find out that they have been banned from entering the Kingdom," he said. "The decision has confused tour operators who are also trying to organize trips for the Haj season. The problem is further exasperated by the time period between Umrah and Haj being very short," he added. Barakat Al-Refaie, owner of Al-Baroon Company for Haj and Umrah, said that many of the pilgrims who did not make it for Haj and Umrah refused to collect their papers after the ban in the hope that the government would review the decision and allow them to go. "Most of those that refuse to leave are elderly men and women who insist on going for Umrah saying they cannot guarantee they would be alive next year." Some of those who arrived from Egypt said that they are feeling sorry for their friends and loved ones who were unable to come for Umrah this year due to the new rules. Ahmad Abu Ismaeel, a resident of Egypt's Qana province, said, "I feel sorry for my neighbors who are unable to come for Umrah because their only daughter is below 25. They simply couldn't leave her behind and come for Umrah