Passengers shocked at sudden change of rules for Zamzam

November 3, 2014

Jeddah, Nov 3: Passengers departing from Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport have expressed shock and disappointment at the new rule limiting the amount of Zamzam water they can carry with them.

Earlier, passengers could take a minimum of 10 liters of Zamzam water per person, but the new rule limits the amount to only five liters per passenger causing tensions with airport officials.

Muzamal Sarkar, traveling to London, called Arab News and complained about the change in rules which prohibit passengers from taking 10-liter bottles of Zamzam water.

Sarkar explained that many passengers were taken aback by the sudden change in rules and were now wondering about what to do with the 10-liter bottles they had carried with them from Makkah.

“I carried a 10-liter Zamzam water bottle which I had bought from Makkah for SR30 to take back home but when I approached the safe wrap company to pack it for me, they informed me that they no longer packed 10-liter bottles as we weren’t allowed to carry them,” Sarkar said.

He further said that there was a stall at the airport which was selling five-liter bottles of Zamzam water for SR10 each and the packing facility was also at a distance from the airport.

“Luckily, the driver who had come to drop me at the airport was still there, so I was able to send back the 10-liter bottle and buy the smaller bottle instead to take to London for my wife who is suffering from cancer,” he said, adding that many passengers were upset at this sudden decision.

Another passenger, Salman Hassan Zaman, told Arab News that about a month ago he had traveled with his family carrying five bottles of 10-liters of Zamzam water but this time he was stuck with the 10-liter bottle and had to discard it at the airport.

Saudi traveler Ali Al Zahrani said that the new rule for carrying Zamzam should be mentioned on the airline ticket to avoid the harassment passengers were currently experiencing.

“It’s unfair to suddenly change the rules without prior notice,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Saudi Arabian Airline airport officer said that the rule had been imposed by the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) not the airlines. He further said that GACA had given the contract to a company which supplies the five-liter packed Zamzam water for the passengers at the airport.

In an earlier statement, Saeed Musfer Al-Wadi, director of the King Abdullah Project for Zamzam of the National Water Company, said: “Zamzam water is being packed according to norms set by the civil aviation authorities and they are exclusively packing five-liter cans for returning pilgrims as advised by the civil aviation authorities.”

In order to find out when the rule for pilgrims had been extended to general travelers, Arab News called GACA, but received no response.

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Syrian Town erupts after Israeli forces enter Beit Jinn; heavy casualties reported

News Network

November 28,2025

Several Syrians were killed and more than two dozen others injured in Israeli strikes on the outskirts of Damascus, amid intensified incursions by the occupying regime since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad and the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rule.

Syrian state TV reported that the casualties occurred during an overnight Israeli assault involving helicopters and drones on the town of Beit Jinn in the Damascus countryside. The attack followed an Israeli military unit’s entry into the town, where they were surrounded by local residents, leading to gunfire and direct confrontations.

According to the report, “The occupation army’s helicopters and artillery shelled Beit Jinn, located at the foothills of Mount Hermon, resulting in 13 martyrs and 25 injured civilians.” The broadcaster did not specify the full extent of damage.

Al-Ikhbariyah Syria confirmed that the shelling coincided with Israeli soldiers entering Beit Jinn, while artillery pounded surrounding areas. The broadcaster stated that the escalation began after local residents clashed with an Israeli patrol that had infiltrated the southern town and “kidnapped” three young men.

Following a two-hour exchange of heavy fire, Israeli forces withdrew and repositioned on the hill of Butt al-Warda at the town’s outskirts.

Israeli media acknowledged that six soldiers were wounded in the clashes—three of them seriously—describing the confrontation as a “sudden ambush” that forced the deployment of reserve units and air support to secure an exit route. No further details were provided.

The aggression has fueled renewed displacement from Beit Jinn, with residents fleeing to nearby villages amid increasingly frequent Israeli attacks.

The raid came just a day after Israeli troops carried out another ground incursion into Umm al-Luqas village in Quneitra province. According to SANA, an Israeli unit in four vehicles entered the village, raided several homes, and later withdrew.

Syria condemned the repeated incursions as violations of the 1974 Disengagement Agreement and UN resolutions, urging the international community to enforce compliance and pressure Israel to halt its operations and withdraw fully.

Israel has expanded its attacks across Syrian territory following the collapse of the Assad government last year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed his forces to push deeper into Syrian territory and seize strategic positions.

Meanwhile, critics say the HTS-led interim government’s inaction and growing normalization gestures toward Israel have emboldened Tel Aviv to intensify its military operations. HTS, formerly linked to al-Qaeda, seized control of Damascus last December, formally ending Assad’s rule.

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