Umrah flights from Tunisia: Jeddah, Medina, airlines and punctuality

Every winter, thousands of Tunisians travel to perform Umrah. From October 2025 to September 2026 we recorded 1,773 flights between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, departing from and arriving at Tunis-Carthage, Djerba-Zarzis and Monastir. For each one we compared the scheduled time with the actual take-off or landing time.

The Umrah season: December to March

Month	Flights	On time (≤ 15 min)
October 2025	118	68%
November 2025	160	51%
December 2025	218	43%
January 2026	222	35%
February 2026	207	48%
March 2026 (Ramadan)	244	43%
April 2026	123	63%
May 2026	79	49%
June 2026	98	76%
July 2026	82	82%
August 2026	118	76%
September 2026	104	69%

Traffic doubles between autumn and winter, peaking during Ramadan (mid-February to mid-March 2026). It is also the least punctual period: in January barely one flight in three was on time, against more than three in four in summer.

Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin around 8 February 2027, about ten days earlier than in 2026, so the peak season will move earlier too.

How the airlines compare

Airline	Flights (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026)	On time (≤ 15 min)	Average delay when late	Delays over one hour	Cancelled flights
Saudia	841	77%	58 min	7%	3
Nouvelair	153	58%	57 min	9%	0
Tunisair	776	28%	86 min	37%	2

The gap is considerable. Saudia is on time more than three times out of four. Tunisair, which operates almost as many flights, is on time only about one time in four, and more than a third of its flights are over an hour late. Over the year we recorded 62 flights three hours late or more, 53 of them with Tunisair.

Cancellations, on the other hand, are very rare on these routes: 5 flights out of 1,773.

Outbound and return

Airline	Arrivals in Tunisia on time	Departures from Tunisia on time
Saudia	75%	79%
Nouvelair	42%	75%
Tunisair	35%	22%

Leaving Tunisia, the gap is even clearer: Saudia takes off on time almost four times out of five, Tunisair barely more than one time in five.

Route by route

Route	Airline	Flights	On time
Tunis – Jeddah	Saudia	760	80%
	Tunisair	647	27%
	Nouvelair	35	41%
Tunis – Medina	Tunisair	32	38%
Djerba – Jeddah	Nouvelair	47	59%
Djerba – Medina	Nouvelair	44	72%
Monastir – Jeddah	Tunisair	33	37%
	Saudia	30	34%

• Tunis – Jeddah carries most of the flights: at the height of winter, about 13 return flights a week with Tunisair and 10 with Saudia.
• From Djerba, Nouvelair is practically alone and flies to both Jeddah and Medina, which saves the Jeddah – Medina journey by road.
• Tunis – Medina has few direct flights, with long delays: two hours on average when the flight is late.

What this means for you

• If you have the choice from Tunis, Saudia is by far the most punctual airline to Jeddah.
• If you travel with an agency, ask which airline and flight you are booked on: with the flight number you can follow the real time on the day on our Tunis-Carthage departures page.
• Allow extra time for transfers on arrival, especially from December to March.
• To meet a relative on their return, check the landing time live on the Tunis-Carthage, Djerba or Monastir arrivals pages: delays are frequent in this direction.
• These flights are not covered by the European delay regulation (EC 261/2004). In case of a long delay, ask the airline for the care it provides (meals, accommodation if needed) and keep your boarding passes and receipts.

Method

The figures come from the schedules published by OACA for Tunis-Carthage, Djerba-Zarzis and Monastir airports, recorded every 30 minutes by Tunisia Airports, from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026 (departures and arrivals, all Saudi airports). A flight is "on time" if it took off or landed at most 15 minutes late. For a departure, the recorded time is take-off, so taxiing is included. Only flights that actually departed or arrived are counted in the percentages. Pilgrimage flights chartered outside the regular schedule may not appear in these schedules. Codeshare flights are counted once. Tunisia Airports is an independent site, not affiliated with OACA or the airlines mentioned.