KUALA LUMPUR: Pilgrimage flights to Saudi Arabia are expected to proceed as usual with the first flight for this year’s haj season expected to take off on April 18, said religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan.
Tabung Haji, the pilgrims fund, is also preparing a good contingency plan to deal with any eventuality in view of the West Asian crisis, he said. However, he did not provide details of the contingency plan, Berita Harian reported.
Asked about the current developments related to pilgrimage costs and operations, Zulkifli said they expect Tabung Haji to absorb all related costs, should any increase occur.
He said thorough preparations had been made in Mecca and Madinah for Malaysian pilgrims. Saudi Arabia has set a Malaysian quota of 31,600 pilgrims for this year’s season.
Tabung Haji has stated that pilgrim flights will begin on April 18, while the last flight is scheduled for May 20, with the day of wukuf expected to be May 26.