--- title: Operation Hajj Airlift 1952 Flights to Saudi Arabia description: After thousands of pilgrims were stranded in Beirut on their way to Mecca, one American diplomat saw an opportunity to lend a helping hand. canonical: https://time.com/3457216/hajj-airlift/ author: Noah Rayman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-10-02T19:15:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:33:30.003Z article:section: History og:title: The Hajj Airlift You've Probably Never Heard Of og:description: Operation Hajj helped airlift stranded pilgrims in 1952 og:url: https://time.com/3457216/hajj-airlift/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74a71790a184a405/6986a6b7d0b6f2bb1730673e/hajj.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hajj og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Hajj Airlift You've Probably Never Heard Of twitter:description: Operation Hajj helped airlift stranded pilgrims in 1952 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74a71790a184a405/6986a6b7d0b6f2bb1730673e/hajj.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Hajj Airlift You've Probably Never Heard Of > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Oct 2, 2014 7:15 PM UTC  Pilgrims arriving at Mecca's Grand Mosque on Oct. 10, 2013, during the hajj pilgrimage Pilgrims arriving at Mecca's Grand Mosque on Oct. 10, 2013, during the hajj pilgrimage Fayez Nureldine—AFP/Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Oct 2, 2014 7:15 PM UTC The annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca kicks off this week, with some 2 million people expected to join. The religious occasion is considered to be the largest annual mass gathering in the world and is, unsurprisingly, accompanied by a litany of logistical hurdles, ranging from transportation to accommodations. But it could be worse: in 1952, the problem was particularly acute. As TIME reported then, far more pilgrims were headed for Saudi Arabia, where Mecca is located, than had been expected, in part because Saudi Arabia had waived an entrance fee for pilgrims that year. As a result, flights from Beirut–a common layover–were overbooked, and thousands of people found themselves stranded in Beirut on their way to Mecca. One American diplomat in Lebanon, Harold Minor, saw an opportunity to lend a helping hand and, in so doing, also attempt to mend the U.S.’s then-shaky relations with the Arab world. Here’s TIME’s account of the ensuing “miracle in Washington:” --- > “” --- The operation was reportedly a huge success and drew praise from Arab leaders and TIME readers alike. [Wrote one reader](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,935718-3,00.html), Nashville resident Robert Alvarez: --- > “” --- **_Read the 1952 story about Operation Hajj:_** [Airlift for Allah](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,935660-1,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3457216/hajj-airlift/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3457216/hajj-airlift/"},"headline":"The Hajj Airlift You've Probably Never Heard Of","datePublished":"2014-10-02T19:15:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:33:30.003Z","description":"After thousands of pilgrims were stranded in Beirut on their way to Mecca, one American diplomat saw an opportunity to lend a helping hand.","url":"https://time.com/3457216/hajj-airlift/","keywords":["faith","History","Lebanon","Religion","Saudi Arabia","Islam"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74a71790a184a405/6986a6b7d0b6f2bb1730673e/hajj.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt74a71790a184a405/6986a6b7d0b6f2bb1730673e/hajj.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hajj","caption":"Hajj","creditText":"Fayez Nureldine—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/faith/","name":"faith"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3457216/hajj-airlift/","name":"The Hajj Airlift You've Probably Never Heard Of"}}]}] ```