"Hajj pilgrims whose (departure) is delayed will not cause the cancelation of their departure. We will depart them to the Holy Land after all departure prerequisites have been fulfilled," the ministry's Director of Domestic Hajj Services, Saiful Mujab, assured here on Friday.
He cited several reasons that can cause a delay in prospective pilgrims' departure to Saudi Arabia, including failure to fulfill health prerequisites or immigration criteria, such as a Hajj visa.
If prospective pilgrims' departure is delayed due to health conditions, they will be told to recuperate first and leave with the next flight group after recovering.
"If (pilgrims) suffer from a particular health condition, it is no longer possible to embark them on their scheduled flight group; they must recuperate first. Later, we will arrange again to ensure they can depart on the next flight group," Mujab said.
The same approach will be applied to those whose departure gets delayed due to immigration issues, he affirmed.
"At present, (pilgrims) should handle their biometric visa on their own; they should submit their face photo and fingerprints from their gadget," the ministry director said.
The ministry has found that many Hajj pilgrims could not resolve their issues on time before the departure of their flight group, which caused them to be left behind, he added.
"For such cases, we will wait for them (to resolve their issues). We will depart them on the next flight group once the visa is issued. Remember, delayed departure does not mean cancelation," he emphasized.
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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Sri Haryati
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