Around 4,000 Indian Umrah pilgrims are stranded in Saudi Arabia after flight services to Jeddah by IndiGo, Akasa and Air India were halted, Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi said on Thursday, urging the Centre to arrange their return or permit the airlines to operate special flights.
Owaisi said the pilgrims were spread across Madina, Mecca and Jeddah and had travelled to Saudi Arabia for Umrah on the affected airlines. According to his statement, the Director General of Civil Aviation stopped flights to the country because of changing and volatile security conditions.
The AIMIM president said the disruption had left the pilgrims facing severe difficulties in Saudi Arabia. He also alleged that the travel agents who organised the pilgrimage had abandoned them, leaving the travellers without adequate support during the disruption.
“Following the changing conditions there, the Director General of Civil Aviation has halted services by IndiGo, Akasa and Air India to Jeddah, the airlines which the pilgrims had travelled in for their pilgrimage,” Owaisi said. He urged the regulator to allow the airlines to operate large aircraft to Jeddah so the pilgrims could be brought back safely.
The Hyderabad MP said some pilgrims had been housed at the Hyderabad Rubath, but that the facility was not sufficient to accommodate everyone affected. He said the stranded travellers were in a helpless situation and did not have the financial means to purchase tickets on other airlines.
“If the DGCA does not give permission for the flights, then the Government of India should organise special flights to bring the pilgrims home,” Owaisi said. His demand places the immediate responsibility for resolving the disruption on the civil aviation authorities and the Union government, particularly if regular airline services remain suspended.
Owaisi said he was seeking action from Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiran Rijiju, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu. He urged the ministers to coordinate measures ensuring that all Indian pilgrims affected by the flight disruption could return safely.
The report did not include a response from the DGCA, the three airlines, the travel agents named in Owaisi’s allegation or the Union ministries. It also did not specify how many of the stranded pilgrims were from Hyderabad, the duration of the flight suspension, or whether any special flight had been approved. The next step will depend on the DGCA’s decision on flight permissions and any government arrangement for the pilgrims’ return.
