Rano Karno Recounts Mecca Atmosphere as Iran–Israel Tensions Intensify After Umrah Return

Jakarta’s Deputy Governor, Rano Karno, described his experience returning from Umrah amid international flight disruptions caused by the Iran–Israel conflict. He undertook Umrah from 23 February 2026 and returned to Jakarta on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. He confirmed that pilgrims using direct flights to Indonesia were not affected by the disruptions. However, he acknowledged that several transit flights had stopped operating. ‘But indeed those transiting via Qatar, via Abu Dhabi, have all stopped. This has meant that yesterday perhaps more than 38,000 of our pilgrims could not return, waiting,’ he said. Karno also recounted his experience on the flight home. He observed that many foreign nationals chose to use the Indonesian national carrier Garuda to continue their journey. He noted that some passengers were willing to undertake a long land journey to secure a direct flight. ‘There was one person; he had travelled by taxi from Doha to Riyadh—the taxi fare was nearly Rp28 million—then he boarded a Garuda aircraft. In other words, we hope there will be no change, though I follow the news there day by day,’ Karno said. He assessed that the situation reflected the limited flight options amid the conflict. ‘God willing Mecca and Medina are relatively safe, there are no problems. But we hope that, going forward, the fighting can be resolved soon,’ he added. Karno hopes the Iran–Israel conflict will ease soon so that international air travel can return to normal and pilgrims can travel safely.