Travel agents across the UAE report that new Umrah bookings have fallen by roughly half since Houthi drone and missile attacks targeted airports in Saudi Arabia in recent days. Shihab Perwad of Rehan Al Jazeera Tours and Travels said pilgrims who had already paid for trips were not cancelling, but fresh enquiries had dropped by about 50 per cent as travellers wait to see how the security situation develops.
Jaseem, from Al Shammar Haj and Umrah Service, confirmed the trend, adding that instead of cancelling outright, many clients are simply rerouting. Flights that were due to land in Riyadh are being redirected to Jeddah or Madinah, both established gateways for pilgrims heading onward to Makkah by road. The shift followed the suspension of a number of direct Riyadh flights.
Pricing has stayed broadly stable despite the disruption. Operators said bus-based Umrah packages, which typically run for around ten days, are still priced at about Dh1,100, while fly-in packages start from roughly Dh2,700. A number of UAE residents are now choosing to travel overland rather than fly, or are postponing their trip altogether until the security picture becomes clearer.
The slowdown comes at an awkward moment for the industry: October traditionally marks the start of the Umrah season, with demand usually climbing toward a peak in December. Agents say the coming weeks will be decisive — if calm returns to Saudi airports before the December rush, bookings could recover quickly, but a prolonged period of disruption would hit one of the busiest periods of the year for Gulf pilgrimage operators. For now, most describe the market as cautious rather than collapsed, with existing pilgrims still travelling as planned.