The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH); a National Hajj specific organisation working for the welfare and wellbeing of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims welcomes the guidelines issued by the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which are parallel to the European Air Passenger Rights Legislation. Under the new guidelines, airlines will be responsible to give compensation for delayed and cancelled flights. The amount of compensation decided by GACA will have to be paid by the respective airline within a month. If they fail to pay the compensation within the specific time, they will have to pay the air travellers SR 1500 extra for each delayed day. The compensation includes flight delays, loss of baggage and other violations. Under these new guidelines, passengers will be provided with free accommodation and meals in case of flight delay. The airlines have been asked by the Saudi authorities to cut down on the number of cancelled flights and inform passengers about any cancellation as early as possible. “This was a long awaited directive from the GACA of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which is extremely vital to address the chaotic situation seen specifically during the Hajj period where every year thousands of Pilgrims suffer extreme pain, misery, and mental anguish due to delays and cancellations of flights, poor management, and other violations by some airlines”, said Khalid Pervez, General Secretary, ABH. Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK also strongly urges the relevant authorities of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other International Civil Aviation authorities to investigate and address the issue of severe exploitation of Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims by some airlines. These airlines and their appointed travel agencies are specifically targeting Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims and force them to pay extortionary prices for their airline tickets compared to travelling the same distance to any other destination in the world.
