Diverse Accommodation Packages for Future Major Hajj Pilgrimage

As reported by Hajj Information Base, in Monday’s meeting of the Planning and Coordination Council of the Supreme Leader’s Representative Office and the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, which was chaired by Supreme Leader's representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage affairs and Supervisor of Iranian pilgrims Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab, Deputy Head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization for Hajj and Umra said that these packages will be allocated in case full capacity is considered for dispatch of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and by taking into account the flight stations, status of flights and flights timetable agreed upon by the host country and the duration of pilgrims’ stay in Saudi Arabia in terms of paying the costs will be slightly affected due to seasonal rent of hotels of Mecca City.

Akbar Rezaei pointed out that the negotiations are underway with Civil Aviation Organization and Iran Air to render solutions to reduce the time of travel.

The Supreme Leader’s representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage affairs also emphasized the need for studying and providing executive solutions with the aim of getting closer to some demands by pilgrims on reducing the duration of their stay in Saudi Arabia and called on the head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization to take the appropriate decision in the presence of high-ranking officials of Road and Urban Development Ministry.

The meeting continued by a report presented by Head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization on the recent visit of the Iranian delegation to Damascus and the negotiations held on resumption of pilgrims visits to Syria.

Seyed Sadeq Hosseini pointed to lack of cooperation by Iranian airlines in preparing the pilgrimage flights to Syria and higher cost of foreign flights as two problems and expressed hope that the prepared memorandum of understanding for dispatch of pilgrimage caravans to Holy Shrine of Hazrat Zeinab (SA) and Hazrat Ruqqiya (SA) would be signed during the next visit by Syrian tourism minister to Iran.

“For dispatch of Iranian pilgrims to Syria we are considering other solutions while consulting with other domestic airlines through a third country which is hoped will work,” he added.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab, meantime, stressed the need for improving the shortcomings of the modern plan for dispatch of pilgrims to Atabat Aliat, and stipulated that in the wake of studies conducted on the demerits, the problems of this plan should be sooner overcome and the grounds to be paved for maximum attraction of pilgrims from different provinces.

He criticized that no dispatch of pilgrims takes place from some provinces within the framework of this plan, and said that the head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and his deputy for Atabat affairs should quickly prepare the grounds for dispatch of pilgrims with the framework of modern plan of dispatch of Atabat.

At the end of the meeting, Deputy Head of Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization for Hajj and Umra affairs explained about the existing guidelines on transfer of Major Hajj (Hajj Tamato) tickets and it was agreed that the suggestions rendered by the managers, experts and those involved in this field to be precisely studied in expert meetings and presented to the planning council meeting for decision-making.