Jakarta. Indonesia is in talks with airlines to save the stranded Umrah pilgrims and provide accommodation as the war-induced uncertainties cloud the airspace, Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said on Tuesday.

The Middle East conflict — fueled by the US-Israel strikes on Iran — has led to airspace shutdowns in key transit hubs such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha. The closures have left tens of thousands of Indonesian pilgrims stuck in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to reporters, Dudy said that the government had spoken to the airlines that were supposed to take the pilgrims home.

“We are in coordination with the airlines, including on whether they can provide accommodation for the pilgrims,” Dudy told the press in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“And there is an alternative of bringing the pilgrims back to Indonesia. Have you ever canceled a flight? When that happens, airlines can put the passengers on another carrier’s flight.” 

Dudy did not go into details on which airlines the government had been speaking to, including who would cover the hotel costs. 

As of March 1, around 58,873 Indonesian Umrah pilgrims were still in Saudi Arabia, state-run news agency Antara reported, quoting the government database. Umrah is a minor pilgrimage where Muslims visit Islam’s holiest site Kaaba, in Mecca. Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. The Hajj Ministry reported that around 6,047 pilgrims had returned to Indonesia between Feb. 28 and March 1, or the first two days of the conflict.

Saudi airspace remains operational, thereby enabling direct flights to the oil-rich kingdom. Flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has only suspended its Doha route “until further notice” following the recent security developments.

The conflict started with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran, which quickly spread into other Arab countries as Iran targeted US assets. Most recently, the US Embassy in Riyadh got hit by drones. US President Donald Trump has also announced that the military operations could last between four and five weeks, but Washington is prepared “to go far longer than that”. 

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