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This year’s Umrah season is unfolding amid heightened security tensions in the Middle East, with widespread airspace disruptions and flight cancellations following the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks.
The situation is affecting Moroccans traveling to Saudi Arabia during Ramadan to perform Umrah. While en route to Medina, a Moroccan-French pilgrim described a frightening experience during his journey. «Our flight crossed paths with fighter jets in the middle of an operation, which forced us to change course», he told Yabiladi on Monday. He said he saw «a fighter jet dropping something luminous» while flying above Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, as the aircraft was heading to Amman for a stopover.
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As of Monday, March 2, Saudi Arabia along with Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates had announced at least partial airspace closures. Major airport hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha have also faced temporary closures.
At the onset of the Israeli and U.S. strikes over the weekend, Royal Air Maroc announced the cancellation of several flights, warning that additional services could be affected due to the evolving situation and restricted Middle Eastern airspace.
On February 28, 2026, Israel and the United States launched coordinated strikes on multiple sites in Iran. In response, Iran deployed thousands of drones and ballistic missiles across the Persian Gulf region, targeting Israel as well as U.S. military bases in Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
