Kuala Lumpur, 16/12/2016: As of Friday Eaglexpress and Al-Fajr Travel and Tours have fully briefed both the Umrah pilgrims and relevant government ministries on the situation that has arisen from the delay in obtaining the landing approval for Saudi Arabia.
Eaglexpress has undertaken Hajj and Umrah operations over the past 5 years with other airlines in the Middle East, this is the first time that this situation has occurred. Our internal response team continues to stay in close communication with all relevant stakeholders in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia to ensure that this matter is resolved as quickly as possible.
Currently, our main concern is the pilgrims who are unable to fly at this time. Senior members of the Eaglexpress and Al-Fajr teams has briefed the pilgrims and their family members on the reasons for the delay. While it is understandable that they are upset at this time they are fully aware of the reason for the delay and we thank them for their patience and understanding in this matter.
In the last 24 hours senior members of Eaglexpress management team have briefed MAVCOM and Majlis Kawal Selia Umrah (MKSU) under the Ministry of Tourism respectively and we will continue to brief all the relevant government bodies on an ongoing basis to allow them to be fully updated of the situation.
The delayed landing approval from the Saudi authorities is our only challenge at this point in time, all other regulations and safety matters have been conformed with in accordance to international safety protocols. Eaglexpress is one of the few airlines in Malaysia to fully conform to both IATA and IOSA standards, because of this we are not taking any short cuts in obtaining the approval.
In the interim, Al-Fajr Travel and Tours have taken on the responsibility for logistics and accommodation for those affected by the delay. Al-Fajr will inform the pilgrims of the new flight dates once confirmed.
It is important to note that while these flights are delayed that we are not cancelling any flights and that all of those who have purchased the Al-Fajr Umrah package will be able to travel once the landing approval has been obtained.
Moving forward, we are continuing to work closely with General Authority Civil Aviation (GACA) under the Ministry of Transport Saudi Arabia to obtain the landing approvals.
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