In the most recent indication of the improving relations between the two nations, a Saudi airline has started operating flights for Iranian Hajj pilgrims to the kingdom for the first time in ten years. Flynas resumed Iranian pilgrims flights from Imam Khomeini (airport) in Tehran on Saturday,” a Saudi civil aviation authority representative told AFP, who asked not to be named.
According to the spokesman, the airline would also add flights from Mashhad, Iran, enabling over 35,000 pilgrims to reach Saudi Arabia.
Based in Saudi Arabia, Flynas is a low-cost airline serving domestic and international flights. The official emphasised that the flights were only for the Hajj trip and were not commercial planes.
The Hajj is scheduled to start in the first week of June, and pilgrims from all over the world have already started arriving in Saudi Arabia. After a seven-year break, Iran and Saudi Arabia re-established their relations in March 2023 under a surprise agreement mediated by China.
Following the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr by Saudi Arabia, protesters damaged the country’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwest city of Mashhad, leading Saudi Arabia to sever ties with Iran in 2016. In 2016, when relations were severed, no Iranian pilgrims were permitted entry into Saudi Arabia since the two countries could not agree on a procedure enabling them to participate.
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