Middle East Conflict Escalates, Chair of Commission VIII Proposes Hajj Flight Route Via Africa

Jakarta — The Chair of the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission VIII, Marwan Dasopang, has proposed an alternative Hajj flight route via Africa should the Middle East conflict continue to escalate. He said the government must prepare such a scenario to anticipate security conditions arising from the fighting in the region.

‘Secondly, pilgrims cannot be kept waiting indefinitely. There must be an alternative, for example could flights be diverted to Africa? So depart from Jeddah to Nairobi, then toward Africa, crossing the open sea—not skirting along island chains,’ Marwan told reporters at the Parliament Complex, Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (6 March 2026).

‘Because if you look at maps, from Africa you cannot pass over Yemen, as Yemen has long been avoided due to ongoing escalation making it unsafe to fly over,’ he said.

Marwan argued the scenario is necessary to anticipate the possibility that pilgrims may struggle to return to Indonesia if the conflict escalates again after they are in Saudi Arabia.

‘If the situation is safe, for example they depart, but then suddenly they cannot return there. The escalation subsides but increases again,’ he said.

However, Marwan estimated the Africa route would extend flight times compared with the normal route.

‘I think it would be longer, because the flying time would be longer. If at present it’s around eight to ten hours, or in Aceh six hours, it would certainly be longer because the route would be a detour,’ he said.

Therefore, the government should also calculate the cost impact of changing the flight route.

Marwan emphasised that additional costs should not be borne by the pilgrims.

‘If for example the budget swells, we must renegotiate who bears it. I think funding should come from the BPKH to cover or bridge the costs; I don’t think they are capable of doing that, because their finances are for a single Hajj. If it’s spent, I think it will cause problems in our Hajj programme,’ he concluded.

For background, the escalation of the Middle East conflict intensified after Israel was reported to have attacked Tehran, Iran, on Saturday morning, 28 February 2026. The attack was reported near the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Tasnim and Fars subsequently confirmed Khamenei’s death, with clashes reportedly continuing and spreading across the region.