Egypt begins receiving more than 74,000 pilgrims returning from Hajj

CAIRO – 30 May 2026: Egypt has begun receiving more than 74,000 pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia after completing the annual Hajj pilgrimage, with the first flights arriving as authorities launch a two-week operation to bring worshippers home.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the first return flights carrying Egyptian tourism pilgrims departed from Makkah on Friday following the completion of this year's pilgrimage rites.

Eight flights carrying 476 pilgrims were scheduled to depart on the first day, the ministry said.

The chairman of Cairo Airport Company said a total of 74,642 Egyptian pilgrims are expected to arrive from the Saudi cities of Makkah and Madinah on 474 flights through mid-June.

Cairo International Airport has completed preparations to handle the influx of returning pilgrims, he added.

The flights will operate according to a schedule distributing arrivals between King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.

Samia Sami, assistant minister for tourism companies affairs and head of Egypt's tourism Hajj mission, said field teams had been deployed at Saudi departure airports to assist roughly 35,000 pilgrims who travelled under tourism programs, one of the main categories through which Egyptians perform Hajj.

The teams are overseeing travel procedures, accompanying pilgrims and helping resolve any issues that arise before departure, she said.

Similar teams have been stationed at Cairo International Airport and other arrival airports across Egypt to facilitate entry procedures and coordinate with mission staff around the clock, Sami added.

Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is required once in a lifetime for Muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake the journey.

During the pilgrimage, worshippers perform a series of rituals in and around Makkah, including the symbolic stoning of pillars, the Tawaf al-Ifadah, a circumambulation of the Kaaba that forms an essential part of the pilgrimage, and the Sa’i, which involves walking seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah.

In Egypt, pilgrims typically travel through several official schemes, including tourism programs overseen by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, a public lottery system administered by the Ministry of Interior, and other programs organized by civil society associations under the Ministry of Social Solidarity.