1- It’s not canceled. (Open to Residents within KSA)
2- Those scholars are morons. Hajj has been canceled nearly 40 times.

Hell, I’ll list some (Thread):
*ahem*

•Qarmatian Sack of Mecca (930)
A radical Shia sect sacked mecca and filled Zamzam well with pilgrim corpses https://twitter.com/nytimesworld/status/1275679314827190273

•The Qaramatians subsequently stole the black stone from the Kabaa thus suspending hajj for a reported 10 years before ransoing its return in 952

•The Abassids and Fatimds were at war in 983 disrupting Hajj for 8 years

•Napoleon’s escapes in Egypt circa 1789-1801 also disrupted Hajj significantly

• Plauge in 967
•Famine/drought in 1048
•Multiple cholera outbreaks in the 1800s

In conclusion:
•There’s multiple historical precedents.
•There is no sin or harm in not making the pilgrimage if one is unable.
—Some clerics make the argument that one *shouldn’t* burden themselves w/ hajj if it’s above their means in the first place
•The NYT is embarrassing.