Government Working to Arrange Travel for 150 Stranded Hajj Pilgrims

The government has begun efforts to arrange travel for around 150 Maldivian pilgrims who were unable to depart for Hajj after their flights were cancelled, Minister of Islamic Affairs Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said on Wednesday.

In a statement shared on Facebook, Shaheem said the Ministry of Islamic Affairs (Maldives), the Maldives Hajj Corporation and national airline Maldivian have begun working together to find a solution that would allow the affected pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia in time to perform the annual pilgrimage.

According to the minister, authorities have so far identified 150 people who are waiting to depart.

“If a flight can be chartered, additional seats will also be made available for others who wish to travel, depending on the remaining capacity,” Shaheem said, noting that time was running short to resolve the issue before the Hajj period.

He added that the travel costs would be borne by the pilgrims themselves, following the same procedures normally applied for Umrah trips.

Shaheem said the government was working urgently to overcome the current challenges and facilitate the pilgrims’ travel.

The development follows the sudden cancellation of an Umrah trip organised by Al Abrar Pvt Ltd earlier this week, which left more than 100 pilgrims stranded.

A source familiar with the situation said 110 people had been scheduled to depart on Tuesday evening. Pilgrims were initially instructed to bring their luggage to the airport between 10 am and 11 am, before later being asked to bring their baggage again closer to the departure time.

The group was subsequently called to a meeting at around 2 pm, where they were informed that the trip had been cancelled.

Organisers reportedly cited the ongoing conflict in the Middle East as the reason for the cancellation. However, one passenger said many pilgrims were concerned they might lose their opportunity to perform Umrah, noting that they had earlier been assured that travel arrangements would not be affected.

The source added that pilgrims had paid about MVR 45,000 each for the trip, but some had still not received their visas as of Tuesday evening.

The matter has been reported to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, which confirmed that an investigation into the cancellation is underway. Shaheem previously said the ministry had taken note of the issue and was looking into the circumstances surrounding the cancelled trip.