Returning pilgrims receive assistance as they disembark from their aircraft upon arrival at the Sultan Iskandar Muda International Airport in Blang Bintang, Aceh province on June 28, after performing the annual Hajj pilgrimage. — AFP/VNA Photo

JAKARTA — Two groups of Indonesian haj pilgrims have arrived home safely after being stranded for a day when their flights from Saudi Arabia were delayed following an escalation of armed conflict between Israel and Iran in the region.

The flights supposed to carry two groups of pilgrims from the Surabaya embarkation point in East Java were initially canceled following the temporary closure of the Muscat International Airport in Oman after an Iranian missile attack against the Al Udeid air force base in Doha, Qatar on the night of June 23.

The pilgrims were initially scheduled to fly home from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on June 24, but had to spend more time in the city. Indonesian officials sent the stranded pilgrims to seven transit hotels in Jeddah.

The first group, SUB 43 consisting 380 pilgrims, finally left Jeddah on the evening of June 25, following a ceasefire deal between Iran and Israel that was first announced by US President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile the flight for the second group, called SUB 44, which also has 30 pilgrims, took off on the morning of June 26.

“The [two groups] whose flights were delayed have arrived home. The pilgrims have been reuniting with their families,” the Religious Affairs Ministry’s domestic haj service director Muhammad Zain said in a statement on Friday.

Separately, Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar said the recent escalated tension in the Middle East had only affected the two flights carrying pilgrims to Surabaya. He asserted that flights carrying Indonesian pilgrims back home are operating without any issues now.

“Hopefully the ceasefire lasts until our last pilgrims return home, because they would pass over the Qatari airspace, which is safe to be passed through now,” the minister said in Jakarta on Saturday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

The intensified conflict became the backdrop of this year’s haj, which saw over 1.4 million pilgrims around the world visiting Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage, a mandatory once-in-a-lifetime trip for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

More than 200,000 of the 1.4 million pilgrims came from Indonesia, which has been given the largest haj quote by the Saudi government.

Indonesian pilgrims were split into 525 flight groups departing from 14 embarkation points across the country, including Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan in North Sumatra and Makassar in South Sulawesi.

According to the Religious Affairs Ministry, the return for Indonesian pilgrims is split into two waves: The first wave left Saudi Arabia from Jeddah between June 11 and 25, followed by the second wave from Madinah between June 26 and July 11.

Aside from the Muscat airport closure, the return trips for Indonesian pilgrims for this year’s haj were also disrupted by bomb threats against two Saudi flights carrying pilgrims to Surabaya and Jakarta, which were forced to divert to Kualanamu International Airport in Medan on June 17 and 21.

The pilgrims from both flights were forced to stay overnight in Medan while police and military officers checked on the planes for a bomb. While security personnel did not find any explosive devices on either flight, authorities are still investigating the perpetrators behind the false threats. — THE JAKARTA POST/ANN