Thousands of followers of the beloved Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him)are stand in line at travel agencies in the hope of visiting the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina to celebrate the auspicious day on 14th January but in vain. The demand for flight tickets has gone far above the ground causing an unreasonable spike in airfare along with a seat crunch.
Mohammed Shoeb from Link International Travel Agents in Diwan Deodh said that,”the airfare should be around Rs 23,600 but as there are no seats, pilgrims are obliged to go to other movers and book tickets at double the existing price. Many airlines know that those who can afford it will buy tickets, come what may.”He also added that Saudi authorities for the past five years had clogged issuing Umrah visas before Milad-un-Nabi due to administrative concerns.
According to Mohammed Abdur Razzak , president of Haj and Umrah Tour Organisers Welfare Association, there are at least five airlines operating between Hyderabad and the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, which is the landing point for both Umrah and Haj pilgrims and every airline flight frequencies are fluctuating between destinations .
The rush is such that it has invited the interference of the state government, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy draw attention to the lack of adequate flights to minister for civil aviation C Ajit Singh and presssed for more flights to and from the Kindgom. In a letter written on January 8, a copy of which his available with STOI.
Another letter with similar content was sent by deputy speaker Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu to Ministry to arrange an additional flight from Hyderabad to Jeddah before January 13, 2014 and also an extra return flight from Jeddah to Hyderabad after 15 days.