When national carrier Air India lost the bid this year to Saudi airlines for carrying out Haj operations in India, it was bad news for pilgrims from J&K. Foreign airlines are barred from carrying out operations from the Srinagar airport even though it has been designated as an international airport. This means that there will be no direct flights to Saudi Arabia from the Valley  an issue which has deeply upset the state government.Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah raised the matter in a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh on Monday.When the Srinagar airport has been designated international, then why stop foreign carriers from flying from there? If domestic carriers can fly to international destinations from Srinagar, then why not foreign carriers? said CM Omar Abdullah in a telephonic conversation with The Indian Express. They have no business withdrawing a facility which had been extended earlier,he added. The Haj operations will begin October 9 and 6,700 pilgrims from the state are expected to go this year. A government official said: “Foreign airlines cannot be allowed to operate direct flights from Srinagar as Pakistan does not grant overflying rights to foreign airlines  originating from Srinagar. Airlines will follow a circuitous route, halting in either Delhi or Mumbai.This problem though, said sources, was foreseen by the Aviation Ministry, which requested the MHA almost two months ago to grant permission for direct flights to Saudi Arabia.