Pilgrims travelling from the UK have been left without flights and visas after Saudi Arabi launched a new Hajj booking system.

Saudi Arabia launched a new booking portal just weeks before the annual Hajj, leaving pilgrims without confirmation of flights, visas and hotel bookings.

The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah released a statement saying they are "working to secure alternative flights and additional seats for pilgrims wishing to travel to Saudi Arabia from Britain, the United State of America and European countries".

Footage from July 1 shows thousands of pilgrims walking around the Kaaba in the city of Mecca.

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: Mecca - 01 July 2022. Muslim pilgrims walk around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand mosque following Al-fajr prayer (dawn prayer) in the holy Saudi city of Mecca, during annual Hajj pilgrimage.


STORYLINE:

Annual Saudi Arabia welcomed its first batch of hajj pilgrims since before the coronavirus pandemic, which prompted authorities to sharply restrict the annual ritual.

The Hajj, largest annual pilgrimage in the world, is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in the lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.

Footage by /APA



Muslim pilgrims walk around the Kaaba, Islam's holiest shrine, at the Grand mosque following Al-fajr prayer (dawn prayer) in the holy Saudi city of Mecca, during annual Hajj pilgrimage