A total of 279 Muslim pilgrims to Mecca was stranded in an airport in Saudi Arabia due to a cancellation of a Manila flight that was supposed to be on Monday night, July 10, the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) has disclosed.
In a statement, the NCMF said the 279 Filipino pilgrims were supposed to go home after the Hajj in Mecca but the PR 8683 (Jeddah-Manila) flight was cancelled due to technical issues as advised by the Philippine Airlines.
It added that the affected Filipino pilgrims are those under Sheikhs Samsonahar Dibagelen, Salindatu Abdillah, Mokalid Kasib, Ibrahim Andang, Moctar Alangan and Ahmad Ampuan.
photo: NCMF Facebook page
“Upon coordination by NCMF, PAL committed to provide hotel and meals and will manage the rebooking of the affected passenger-pilgrims’ onward journey to the Philippines,” the statement read.
“The Commission is closely coordinating with the PAL Country Manager and the airline management for further information, issues, and concerns particularly on the local flights which may be affected as a result of the cancelled flight,” it added.
For her part, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said they will be mounting a replacement flight to operate Jeddah - Manila route on July 12.
photo: NCMF Facebook page
She said the replacement flight will depart from Jeddah at 12 noon.
The NCMF said it is also coordinating with the concerned Sheikhs to monitor the status of the pilgrims and to ensure that timely assistance is provided.
The Hajj is an annual pilgrimate to Kaaba, the "House of Allah", in Mecca in Saudi Arabia. The Hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, with a Muslim obligated to perform it once in their lifetime.