Hundreds of Umrah pilgrims from Karnataka are currently stranded across the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia following the sudden disruption of commercial flight operations. Official estimates place the number of affected passengers between 600 and 800. With scheduled return journeys completely halted, the pilgrims are encountering severe shortages of accommodation and food. Recognizing the worsening ground situation, the Karnataka government has sought immediate central intervention to arrange the safe and swift repatriation of the stranded citizens.
Depleted Funds and Mounting Eviction Pressure from Hotels
The prolonged delay has exhausted the financial resources of a vast majority of the stranded travellers. Having budgeted exclusively for the duration of their planned religious trip, numerous pilgrims have run out of foreign exchange and liquid cash, making it extremely difficult to purchase daily meals or cover additional lodging expenses. The unfolding emergency has created immense hardship, particularly for vulnerable groups such as elderly pilgrims, women, and young children who are enduring high stress in unfamiliar surroundings.
Highlighting the plight of the pilgrims, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar noted that inputs from the Karnataka State Haj Committee chairman and ground teams indicate severe logistical distress. Several hotels in Mecca and Medina have begun pressuring pilgrims to vacate their rooms following the expiration of their original booking dates. While several local Indian and Karnataka-based voluntary associations have stepped forward to distribute essential items and provide temporary relief, the sheer scale of the group means the voluntary assistance remains inadequate to sustain everyone over multiple days.
Indian Carriers Suspend Flights While Foreign Airlines Continue
Detailing the transportation breakdown, Karnataka Minister for Minority Welfare, Haj and Waqf, UT Khader, explained that the group of 600 to 800 pilgrims travelled to Saudi Arabia on flights operated by IndiGo, Akasa Air, and Air India Express. All the stranded individuals held valid return tickets issued by these same carriers. However, these specific airlines subsequently suspended operations, leaving the passengers without any scheduled return passage to India.
Khader pointed out that while airlines from various other foreign nations continue to run regular flights in and out of the sector, Indian carriers have failed to resume their scheduled routes. The airlines had previously committed to resuming their flight operations from 24 October, but that operational timeline was abruptly postponed to 27 October without providing clarity on future schedules. This repeated rescheduling has exacerbated the panic among passengers, as airline operators have not issued transparent guidance on how or when normal flights will be reinstated.
Diplomatic Appeals and Impending Supreme Court Action
In response to the growing crisis, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar addressed a formal letter to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday, apprising him of the dire conditions confronting the stranded pilgrims in Mecca and Medina. The Chief Minister urged the central government to initiate urgent diplomatic and logistical measures to ensure their rapid and safe evacuation back to India. Furthermore, a parallel communication was sent to the Union Civil Aviation Minister urging direct intervention with the carriers involved.
Minister UT Khader indicated that no response has been received from the civil aviation ministry so far. Consequently, the state administration and the state Haj committee have taken a firmer stance against the airlines. Khader issued a two-day deadline, warning that if operations to bring back the stranded pilgrims are not restarted within forty-eight hours, the Karnataka State Haj Committee will file a petition before the Supreme Court. The committee plans to seek judicial orders compelling the immediate repatriation of all passengers, along with full financial compensation for the monetary damages, additional expenses, and hardship caused by the sudden flight cancellations.
