The Plight of Hanania Travel Victims: Lured by MURI Record, Failed Umrah, Now Demanding Rp100 Billion Compensation

JAKARTA — Approximately 2,500 prospective Umrah pilgrims failed to depart due to allegations of embezzlement by the travel agency they used, Hanania Travel.

Initially, they were attracted to the company’s MURI (Rekor Indonesia) record label and Category B accreditation. However, the pilgrims’ departure was suddenly cancelled just three days before the scheduled date.

Thousands of prospective pilgrims requested refunds, whilst others who chose to reschedule were asked to complete their payments.

The prospective pilgrims who cancelled their Umrah travel with Hanania Travel explained their reasons for selecting the agency. According to one pilgrim, Anny (30), the Category B accreditation label from the Ministry of Religion that was displayed by the travel agency was one reason for choosing it.

With a good track record of Umrah departures and the MURI record for the largest pilgrimage reunion, Anny felt reassured in using Hanania Travel.

Uli (33) expressed similar sentiments, having heard positive feedback from friends who had used the agency’s services. Everything had gone smoothly, and her friends were satisfied with the service provided, which made Uli confident in choosing Hanania Travel at the time.

“I had experienced their service and everyone was satisfied with it last year. So I had no idea whether this was something they had concealed and it became a time bomb that happened to affect us,” Uli said.

When Ana made further enquiries, she also found the departure schedule provided by Hanania Travel to be convenient.

“Because I was also bringing my child, and during Eid holidays we could travel without disrupting their school activities,” she added.

Ahmad Syah Farhan, Chief Executive Officer of PT Khazanah Tamma Internasional (Hanania Group), cancelled flights for 1,500 Umrah pilgrims citing Middle East conflict as the reason.

“Regarding the cancellation, specifically in the Syawal group case (departures from 21 March to 3 April), it was force majeure due to escalating conditions in the Middle East with several nuclear attacks on Dubai,” Uli explained.

However, based on the pilgrims’ observations, several airlines were still able to operate flights at that time.