(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Oman Air and Saudi Airlines will deploy a total of 17 charter flights for Hajj pilgrims to Mecca and Madinah this time.
To prepare for this annual outflow of pilgrims, Oman Air has arranged 12 special flights to take pilgrims to Madinah and Jeddah, while Saudi Airlines will fly five aircraft.
Around 11,200 pilgrims from Oman are expected to perform Hajj this year, after the usual quota of 14,000 was cut down 20 per cent by Saudi Arabia.
Oman Air's first charter flight took off on October 1 to Madinah, while the next four will take off on October 7. There will be five flights on October 8 and the remaining two on October 9. One of the charters will be leaving from Salalah to Madinah, while rest are scheduled from Muscat. The flights start their return from October 18 till 22.
Apart from its regular scheduled one weekly flights to Madinah and Jeddah, Saudi Airlines will start its five charters from October 6 and return by October 19. The airline will be flying four of its flights to Madinah while one will go to Jeddah.
Rudradatt Vaidya, manager, Omani Travel & Tourism Bureau, the general sales agent for Saudi Airlines, said that his airline has booked more than 1,600 passengers for Hajj.
Vaidya added that not only have Saudi authorities reduced the quota, but have also advanced the last date to enter the kingdom for Hajj. He added that change in entry dates and cut on quota has affected many Hajj travel contractors.
One of them, Ala Mansoor, who usually took more than 200 pilgrims every year, has had 115 this year. ''Although the pilgrim quota has been reduced by 20 per cent, our share has fallen by more than 40 per cent.''
Mansoor added that due to the construction going on in Harem in Mecca, several hotels in the adjoining area have been demolished, resulting in shortfall in accommodation. ''This is the primary reason why rates for Hajj packages have gone up considerably.'' His company, which last year charged RO1,800 for a 12 to 14-day trip, charged RO2,300 this time.
There are many who take the journey by bus. This year, it is expected that 245 buses will leave from Oman, of which at least 214 will be used to transport Omani pilgrims. The rest will take expatriates. Buses started leaving on September 26. Bar al Hukman, a travel company, takes pilgrims by air and by bus. Till two years ago, the company was charging RO700 for a 22-day bus trip and a RO1,100 for a 12-day trip by air. But now the bus trip costs RO1,600 and the air trip RO2,400.''
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