Marwan Dasopang, head of the House of Representatives\u2019 Commission\nVIII, proposed that the government prepare a scenario for Haj flight\nroutes through Africa if the escalation of the conflict in the Middle\nEast continues to intensify. He said the option should be considered to\navoid conflict-prone areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also not feasible for pilgrims to wait long for departure.\nThere must be an alternative, for example could flights be diverted away\nfrom Africa,\u201d he said at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta,\non Friday (6\/3\/2026).<\/p>\n
\u201cSo fly from Jeddah to Nairobi, then towards Africa, basically over\nopen seas, not along island chains,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
According to him, the government needs to coordinate with various\nparties to prepare the scenario. This includes airlines and other Haj\nservice providers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government will be pushed to coordinate with all parties,\nincluding those, if a loss of services has occurred where there are\nflights, hotels, meals, and Masyair in Armuzna,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it would be very heavy financially for Haj next year to\ndepart; the pilgrims currently departing have already paid, so the\ngovernment must succeed in convincing various parties,\u201d he\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
Marwan said the change in the flight route could increase Haj\noperating costs, since flight duration would be longer than the standard\nroute.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there will be (cost increases), because the flight time will\nbe longer. If previously it was eight to ten hours, or Aceh six hours,\nit will certainly be longer because the route is curving,\u201d he\nexplained.<\/p>\n
However, he said the Africa-passage route cannot directly pass over\ncertain areas such as Yemen, as that region has long been avoided due to\nunstable security.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause when you look at the maps, from Africa it cannot also pass\nover Yemen, because Yemen itself has long been avoided due to ongoing\nescalations that are not safe to fly over,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo our route home from Saudi or departure options would be further\nto the right, while the leftmost option would pass over open sea,\u201d he\ncontinued.<\/p>\n
Marwan said the government needs to revisit funding sources to avoid\nburdening pilgrims. He noted the Haj Funds Management Agency (BPKH) also\nhas limitations in covering such cost surges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf, for example, the budget swells, we must renegotiate who bears\nit. I think it should be the finances of BPKH to cover or to step in,\nbut I think they are not capable of that, because their financial\ncapacity is limited to a single Haj,\u201d he said. \u201cIf it is exhausted, I\nthink we will have problems with our Haj this year and next,\u201d he\nadded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/middle-east-tensions-escalate-dprs-commission-viii-proposes-hajj-flight-route-via-africa-1772787935", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }