Supreme Leader's Representative for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs: Pilgrims' Time should not be Wasted Due to Flight Delays

According to the Hajj Information Base, the representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, in a meeting of the members of the Umrah Operations Headquarters in Mecca, congratulated the blessed days of Rajab and said: "We ask God Almighty to grant us success in this valuable month that we will not be ashamed of."

Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab, who is also head of Iranian Hajj pilgrims, said that the current situation of Umrah is very different from the previous decade and needs to be reengineered according to the current conditions.

He emphasized that it is necessary for those involved to present a solution so that the challenges can be resolved with mutual understanding.

The representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs stated, "We must listen to the criticism and suggestions of the pilgrims and we must not do anything that makes the pilgrims leave the land of revelation with bitterness. We must identify the problems and resolve them."

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab stated, "When I first arrived in Mecca, I contacted the head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization and discussed the pilgrims and the issue of flight delays, which is being objected to by a group of pilgrims. It was agreed that the issue would be raised with both the Honorable Minister of Roads and Urban Development and the Honorable First Vice President to resolve this problem."

"Pilgrims pay for this trip, and it is not desirable that their time be wasted with such delays," he added.

The representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs considered one of the reasons for these problems to be the cruel sanctions imposed on Iran, and said, "We have large aircraft in our country's air fleet, and this challenge can be resolved with them."

Referring to the efforts of the Islamic Republic of Iran Airlines, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab said: "They are also acting in accordance with their commitments, but this challenge must be fundamentally resolved."

In the end, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab thanked Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Sadeq Tabatabaei, the head of the Office of the Supreme Leader's representative mission in Mecca, for his efforts during his term of office, and said: "In the fourth term, Hojjat al-Islam Hadi Akbari, who is an intellectual and the director of the Sunni Department of Supreme Leader's office and is also responsible for the Mashaar Institute, will be responsible for the Representative Office in Mecca, and I hope that during his term we will be able to create a complex that we will benefit from in the coming years."

In this meeting, the managers of the Umrah Operations Headquarters in Mecca also presented a report on the status of service provision and existing challenges.