• SriLankan suspends Riyadh and Dammam flights until 1 Nov.
• Foreign Ministry reports no Sri Lankans affected by attacks
• Tour operators urged to ensure safe return of pilgrims 

As Saudi Arabia faces attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure from the Houthis, concerns are growing over the safety of foreign nationals, including Sri Lankan migrant workers and Umrah pilgrims. 

Indian authorities are working to facilitate the return of around 3,000 Indian Umrah pilgrims reportedly stranded in Saudi Arabia. Over the past week, Sri Lankan Umrah pilgrims have also been leaving the country, while India is making arrangements to assist its nationals travelling back from Riyadh and Jeddah.

Due to the regional security situation, SriLankan Airlines has temporarily suspended all direct flights between Colombo and Riyadh and Dammam until and including 1 November. 

The Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs issued a notice on 16 October. The Sri Lanka Hajj Mission has instructed all registered Umrah travel operators to take necessary precautions to safeguard pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia amid regional tensions and the possibility of flight disruptions.  

However, the latest developments, including attacks on key civilian and energy infrastructure, have raised fresh concerns about the safety of expatriate workers and pilgrims. 

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry told The Sunday Morning that no Sri Lankans had been reported affected by the latest developments, particularly in Riyadh and Dammam. The Sri Lankan Ambassador to Saudi Arabia had not responded to a request for clarification on whether arrangements would be made to repatriate Umrah pilgrims in view of the deteriorating security situation in Saudi Arabia. 

India has strongly condemned the continued attacks on civilian and energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the reported attacks on the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam and Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field in the Eastern Province on 21 October. The attacks reportedly resulted in civilian deaths and injuries. 

Meanwhile, no publicly available, real-time official count exists for the number of Sri Lankan Umrah pilgrims currently in Saudi Arabia. 

Unlike the formal Hajj pilgrimage, which is subject to a Government-negotiated national quota, Umrah is a voluntary pilgrimage that can be performed throughout the year. Sri Lanka has been allocated a quota of 3,500 pilgrims for the 2026 Hajj season. Umrah travel, by contrast, is arranged through private tour operators, with pilgrims travelling on individual visas processed through Saudi Arabia’s systems, including the Nusuk platform. 

Hajj and Umrah Committee Chairman Reyaz Mihular told The Sunday Morning that Umrah was smaller in scale than Hajj and involved different travel arrangements, adding that there was no set number of Umrah pilgrims who had travelled to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 

Given the current regional situation, he said that pilgrims and tour operators needed to exercise caution, particularly as flights operating through Jeddah could face disruptions. He added that pilgrims could return as the Jeddah–Sri Lanka flights were operating and because there were other flights operating in Jeddah. 

He explained that Hajj pilgrims generally travelled under specific arrangements and were restricted to designated locations under Saudi regulations, whereas Umrah pilgrims may visit other destinations in Saudi Arabia in addition to performing their religious rites in Mecca. 

Mihular urged tour operators to take preventive measures and ensure the safety of pilgrims, including making arrangements for their safe return if they became stranded. He said that a licence fee of Rs. 2 million was applicable to operators handling pilgrim travel and could be used to facilitate repatriation if required. 

He added that the relevant consular authorities had a role in assisting tour operators to ensure pilgrims were brought home safely. Sri Lanka has around 93 licensed Hajj tour operators, some of whom also arrange Umrah travel. 

Meanwhile, the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah issued a notice on 16 October drawing the attention of Sri Lankan nationals planning to undertake Umrah to the possibility of disruptions to flights to and from Saudi Arabia.