Viral Video of 41 Stranded Umrah Pilgrims from NTB in Mecca Prompts Ministry of Hajj to Summon Travel Agency
A video of 41 umrah pilgrims from West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has gone viral on social media after they were allegedly stranded in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The NTB Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (Kemenhaj) has immediately investigated and summoned the travel agency responsible for their departure.
The information first emerged from a post by the Facebook account @Mataraminfo, which claimed the pilgrims were abandoned by the travel agency.
The Head of the NTB Regional Office (Kanwil) of Kemenhaj, Lalu Muhammad Amin, confirmed the information. However, the allegation of abandonment was only discovered after the agency traced the travel operator.
“Actually, we did not receive it directly from the individuals concerned. Because the news came through social media, there was a lot of confusion. After we investigated yesterday, the umrah organiser is PT Al Shofa Duta Mandiri,” said Amin when met at his office on Tuesday (31/3/2026).
Amin explained that the umrah pilgrimage journey is entirely handled by the umrah pilgrimage travel organiser (PPIU). Nevertheless, all activities remain under Kemenhaj’s supervision.
“So the journey is entirely through the PPIU or the relevant travel agency,” he stated.
Kemenhaj Summons Travel Agency
Amin stated that Kemenhaj NTB has been monitoring and supervising every umrah pilgrimage organisation. The agency has also sent a letter to the travel company that departed the pilgrims.
“We have already sent a letter. So since yesterday, we have sent a letter to the PT that departed these pilgrims. And we traced the pilgrims, who turned out to be from Perampuan Village, Labuapi Subdistrict, West Lombok,” Amin emphasised.
He revealed that four of the 41 pilgrims have already returned to Indonesia. The rest are scheduled to return on 2 April 2026.
“Some are also in the process of waiting for their return departure to Indonesia, preparing their tickets,” he said.
Amin stressed that the information claiming the pilgrims were stranded at one location in Mecca is not entirely accurate. The circulating video shows the pilgrims leaving the hotel to move to another accommodation.
“So they were at the hotel, and their stay had ended. But on social media, it looked like there were stranded pilgrims,” he said.
He also assured that more than 2,000 umrah pilgrims from NTB in Saudi Arabia are safe, despite the escalating conflict between America, Israel, and Iran.
“We assure you there are no problems,” Amin asserted.
Kemenhaj NTB has also summoned the travel agency representatives to provide statements regarding the case.
“Tomorrow we will summon them to appear. To give us explanations on what happened. The chronology and the departure process until the information circulated on social media here. If violations are found that do not comply with procedures, the operational licence of the travel agency could be revoked,” he explained.
“If there are violations, we will block the organiser. Because we will detect it in the umrah supervision system of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he emphasised.
Amin advised the NTB public to pay attention to several matters before departing for umrah, including the travel agency’s legality, round-trip tickets, departure and return schedules, hotel, and visa.