The Borneo Post

Suha announces postponement, rearrangement of umrah flights

Marlinda Mardzuki

KUCHING: More than 600 prospective umrah pilgrims under the management of the Sarawak Umrah and Hajj Agency Organisation (Suha) would have to postpone their trip this month due to lack of air tickets to Saudi Arabia.

According to Suha chairman Ruzaiman Ghazallee, the country is currently experiencing a sudden increase in the number for umrah prospects and many are still waiting for flights.

He said in Sarawak, the umrah management agencies under Suha had more than 600 registered prospects who had paid in full for their December trip.

“There are around 30,000 Umrah prospects throughout Malaysia that have to postpone their trip to December 2022.

“These people are still waiting for flight confirmation from airlines such as Saudi Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and other airlines,” he said this during a press conference held at the Sarawak Golf Club here yesterday to announce the postponement and reorganisation of the Sarawak umrah flight schedule under Suha.

Ruzaiman said this issue might drag on until the month of Ramadan 1444 Hijrah, somewhere in March next year.

According to him, Suha is currently trying to arrange flights for the month of December and this includes arrangement of special charter flights. However, Suha is still waiting for confirmation from relevant parties.

Also in arrangement is the possibility of using the Sarawak government ‘Kuching Umrah Gateway Programme' (KUG), which flies pilgrims directly from Kuching to Jeddah and is expected to launch as early as January next year.

“Currently, we are still in contact with the Sarawak Tourism Board to get confirmation of the flight schedule.

“Apart from flight issues, the local umrah industry is also facing lack of accommodation in Mecca and Medina,” he said.

Ruzaiman called upon umrah prospects to be patient as Suha would announce updates and any changes on the situation from time to time, through the respective umrah agencies.

For the record, the agencies under Suha in reference are Safar Al Ghazali Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd; Az Safir Travel & Tours; Demak Travel Sdn Bhd; InterContinental Travel Centre Sdn Bhd; Wan Zakaria Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd; Astana Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd; and Zunaz Travel Sdn Bhd.

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2022-12-06T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-06T08:00:00.0000000Z

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