Due to a lack of vaccination certificates, more than 100 Umrah pilgrims were offloaded from their flight at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on Monday.
The pilgrims, also included women and children, did not possess polio, meningitis, and COVID-19 vaccination certificates.
Saudi Arabia has made meningitis and polio vaccinations mandatory for Umrah pilgrims coming from Pakistan.
The flight was about to take off when airline authorities removed the passengers, triggering protests at the airport.
According to media reports, the affected pilgrims protested against the airline, accusing it of mishandling the situation.
“We were offloaded and told to buy new tickets. We saved money with great difficulty to perform Umrah, yet we are the ones being punished for the airline and travel agent’s mistake,” they lamented.
The passengers called it an injustice, saying the airline and travel agents should have informed them beforehand about the required vaccination certificates.
