CAIRO: The Saudi Aviation Committee blamed Egyptian pilgrims for their flight delays they sufferred for the past week in a joint statement with Saudi Air on Saturday. Many Egyptians travelers attempting to return home after finishing the Haj – Islamic pilgrimage – to Mecca were forced to spend days at the airport after their flights had been either canceled or delayed. Thousands of Egyptians were forced to spend over five nights in the King Abdullah International Airport amid chaotic circumstances. The committee accused the Egyptians of crowding at the gates and creating chaos, which led to “a confusion in the flights schedule.” The statement also accused Egyptians for being late to their flights and carrying more excess weight than permitted. “The crowd pushing and shoving, their rush to travel without confirmation and irresponsible behavior from some had made it difficult for workers at the airport to do their jobs which led to some travelers missing their flights,” the statement said. Egyptian travelers said they have been treated badly by the airport's workers and representative of Saudi Air which caused them to miss their flights. Khaled el-Sherbiny, one of the travelers trying to return home had filed a police report against Saudi Air accusing them of deliberately causing him to miss his flight in addition to the “inhumane treatment” the pilgrims received at the hands of workers at the airport. The Saudi ambassador to Egypt said an investigation will start aimed at looking into the causes that made it difficult for Egyptians to return home, yet he accused the Egyptian pilgrims of causing the delays themselves due to crowding and not confirming their flights. He added that only 400 remain in the airport and will be flown home on board two planes shortly. The reported ill-treatment of travelers at the Saudi airport has struck a cord back home in Egypt as it brought back memories of other incidents of Egyptians workers being maltreated by the Saudi authorities in the past. The Egyptian government has yet to react to the crisis, which added to public anger. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), a freedom of speech NGO in Egypt, said it was “not acceptable any more to overlook the crimes of the autocratic ruling regime in Saudi and its persistence in wasting the dignity of the Egyptians. “Many Egyptian citizens are still waiting for the Egyptian government or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to react by investigating these violations and declaring the findings, since what the Egyptians pilgrims accuse the authorities of Jeddah airport of is considered, if true, a despicable crime by all means,” ANHRI said Saturday on a statement. “It is unreasonable for a government, regardless of its arbitrariness and authoritarianism, to commit such violations against citizens whose sole ‘crime' is that they went to perform a religious duty. Instead of providing them with protection and comfort, they were inhumanely treated by officials who were not deterred by any religious or legal scruples,” ANHRI added. BM
