Saudi Arabia suspends travel to and from India amid rising covid cases

News Network

September 23, 2020

Riyadh, Sept 23: Saudi Arabia on Wednesday suspended air travel to and from India, Brazil and Argentina, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the country's Civil Aviation Authority, people with travel history to any of the mentioned countries 14 days prior to their arrival to the Kingdom, have also been barred.

"Suspending travel to and from the following countries (India, Brazil, and Argentina) including any person who has been in any of the mentioned countries in the last (14) days prior to their arrival to the Kingdom," General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement.

However, those who have official government invitations are excluded.

Saudi Arabia to re-allow umrah pilgrimage

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has allowed pilgrims residing inside the country to undertake the umrah pilgrimage beginning on October 4, after a seven-month pause due to coronavirus concerns, state news agency SPA reported.

Umrah is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina undertaken any time of the year, attracting 19 million people last year.

Saudi Arabia had instituted a freeze on umrah in March.

It will now allow 6,000 citizens and residents inside the kingdom to perform umrah daily, representing 30% of a revised capacity of 20,000 that takes into account precautionary health measures, SPA added. That will expand to 75% of capacity on October 18.

Beginning November 1, Saudi Arabia will allow visitors from specific countries deemed safe to perform umrah at 100% of the revised capacity, until the end of the pandemic, SPA said.

This year, Saudi Arabia conducted a limited haj, the larger pilgrimage that usually attracts around 3 million people, for a few thousand citizens and residents.

Official data show haj and umrah earn the kingdom about 12 billion USD a year.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia reported 330,798 total cases of coronavirus and 4,542 deaths, as cases in the Gulf region topped 800,000.

Global COVID-19 cases

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has topped 31.5 million, while the deaths have increased to more than 969,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.

As of Wednesday morning, the total number of cases stood at 31,517,087 and the fatalities rose to 969,578, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US is the worst-hit country with the world's highest number of cases and deaths at 6,896,218 and 200,786, respectively, according to the CSSE.

India comes in second place in terms of cases at 5,562,663, while the country`s death toll soared to 90,020.

The other top 15 countries with the maximum amount of cases are:

• Brazil (4,591,364)

• Russia (1,111,157)

• Colombia (777,537)

• Peru (768,895)

• Mexico (705,263)

• Spain (682,267)

• South Africa (663,282)

• Argentina (652,174)

• France (507,150)

• Chile (448,523)

• Iran (429,193)

• UK (406,058)

• Bangladesh (352,178)

• Saudi Arabia (330,798)

• Iraq (327,580)

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IndiGo offers full waiver on cancellations, reschedule requests for bookings between Dec 5 and 15

News Network

December 6,2025

With IndiGo flight disruptions impacting thousands of passengers, the airline on Saturday said that it will offer full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests for travel bookings between December 5, 2025 and December 15, 2025.

Earlier in the day, the civil aviation ministry had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, as well as ensure baggage separated from the travellers are delivered in the next two days.

In a post on X, titled 'No questions asked', IndiGo wrote, "In response to recent events, all refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment."

"We are deeply sorry for the hardships caused," it further added.

Several passengers, however, complained of not getting full refund as promised by the airline.

Netizens have shared screenchots of getting charged for airline cancellation fee and convenience fee.

"Please tell me why u have did this airline cancellation charges when u say full amount will be refunded (sic)," a user wrote sharing a screenshot of the refund page.

"Well, but you have still debited the convenience charges," wrote another.

Passengers have also raised concerns about the "cancel" option being disabled on the IndiGo app. "First enable the 'Cancel' button on your App & offer full refund on tickets cancelled by customers between the said dates," wrote a user.

A day after the country's largest airline, IndiGo, cancelled more than 1,000 flights and caused disruptions for the fifth day on Saturday, the ministry said that any delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite immediate regulatory action.

The refund process for all cancelled or disrupted flights must be completed by 8 pm on Sunday, the ministry said in a statement.

"Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations," it said.

On Saturday, more than 400 flights were cancelled at various airports.

IndiGo has also been instructed to set up dedicated passenger support and refund facilitation cells.

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Vokkaligara Sangha threatens Congress: ‘Shivakumar must be CM or face backlash’

News Network

November 27,2025

Bengaluru: The Vokkaligara Sangha on Thursday issued a stern warning to the Congress, saying the party could face serious electoral repercussions if Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar is not appointed as Chief Minister.

The warning follows the public backing of Shivakumar’s chief ministerial ambition by top Vokkaliga pontiff Nirmalanandanatha Swami, who urged the Congress high command to honor his claim.

“The community supported Congress in the 2023 Assembly elections only because Shivakumar had a real chance to become CM. If he is cheated, we’ll teach the party a big lesson,” said newly elected Sangha president L. Srinivas. He added that Vokkaligas would organize protests under the guidance of community leaders.

General Secretary C.G. Gangadhar pointed out that Congress won more seats in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region due to Shivakumar’s influence, adding, “If Congress wants to retain power, Shivakumar should be made the CM.”

Outgoing president Kenchappa Gowda emphasized Shivakumar’s contribution to Congress’ victory. “Our community voted for Congress thinking he would become CM. Siddaramaiah has also served the party well, but Shivakumar should now be given a chance,” he said.

Former general-secretary Konappa Reddy appealed to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi to recognize Shivakumar’s loyalty and service, saying, “Congress is known to keep its promises. We hope it won’t break the promise made to him.”

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