Meet Saudi Ambassador, Minister of Religion Discusses Saudia Airlines Delay

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas met with Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Abdullah Al-Amudi, in Jakarta. During the meeting, the Minister of Religion also discussed the problem of unprofessional management of Saudia Airlines in the transportation of pilgrims 1444H/2023M.

This unprofessional step was taken, among others, by frequently changing the seat capacity of the aircraft and shifting flight times. This action was carried out unilaterally, without the approval of the Indonesian Ministry of Religion.

The Minister of Religion explained that many Indonesian pilgrims came from the archipelago. “They have to fly or leave earlier from their place of residence to embarkation. If they have to wait, we will feel sorry for them,” said Yaqut, As from the Indonesian Ministry of Religion’s website on Saturday.

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“The changes to the schedule will affect the Flying Group (Kloter), and all of these will affect e-Hajj,” he added.

He also asked the Saudis to be equally proactive in establishing communication during the Hajj operational period. “If there is a flight change, we will be notified earlier, so we can prepare for it,” said the Minister of Religion.

Responding to this, the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia regretted that there were problems with flights for Indonesian pilgrims carried out by Saudia Airlines. For this reason, his party immediately took steps to resolve the case.

“We, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have the principle that the services of pilgrims should not be disrupted. For us, pilgrims are not just passengers, but for us, pilgrims are guests of Allah who must be served well,” said Faisal.

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“We are very sorry for the change in flight schedule. Directly, this morning we came from Saudi Arabia to respond quickly to this incident,” he continued.

Faisal Abdullah Al-Amudi also explained that he did not want pilgrims to leave in a state of anger. Because, in principle, Saudi Arabia positions Indonesian pilgrims, especially the elderly as a family.

“We always communicate with transportation in Saudi, to provide the best service, not just profit. In fact, this year, we feel honored to be able to transport very many Indonesian pilgrims up to hundreds of thousands of pilgrims,” said Faisal Abdullah Al-Amudi.

Faisal also hopes that this problem can be resolved soon and will not be repeated so that it does not disrupt relations between the two countries.

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“We don’t want to upset anyone, we are ready to be summoned. For all those related to Hajj, we are open, even our phones are always on. We are ready to be called, Minister,” said Faisal. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)