Families who have been saving for the Haj are now facing an unexpected bill because Congress wants the government to get rid of the rule that adds 10,000 Rupees to each person’s airfare. However, the government says the airlines wanted to raise prices a lot more, and they talked the price up to $100 for those using the Haj Committee and managed to lower the increase. Now, the disagreement is about if people can really afford the trip and when the price was raised.
What triggered the row
The Haj Committee of India announced new flight prices, which are 10,000 Rupees more per person this year, and said this is because of a large, worldwide increase in the price of Aviation Turbine Fuel.
Congress criticized this decision, saying it’s ‘unfair’ and that since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, the cost of the Haj has become too high for most families. They want the government to cancel the rule immediately.
Opposition leaders are also calling the increase ‘unfair’ and are bringing up the bigger question of whether average Indian families can still manage to go on the Haj with the rising cost of travel.
Government’s explanation and numbers
Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of Minority Affairs, said the central government stepped in because airlines wanted to greatly increase prices due to the problems in the Middle East. He explained that the airlines asked for a $400 increase, but because of discussions, the price for people going with the Haj Committee was brought down to $100, and for private companies it’s $150.
He said the airlines are under more risk and it’s more expensive to operate because of the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel. Rijiju said that high level officials had difficult negotiations so poorer people who want to go on the Haj wouldn’t be priced out of being able to go.
The minister emphasized that they were trying to ensure everyone could still go, “We don’t want people with little money to be unable to go to Mecca because they can’t afford it.” The central government also says they were able to keep the final price increase as low as possible through these tough discussions.
Here are the key positions as stated on Sunday:
– Congress wants the airfare circular withdrawn.
– Haj Committee revised fares by Rs 10,000 per pilgrim.
– Government says airlines demanded a $400 hike.
– Negotiations limited the increase to $100 for committee pilgrims.
– Private operators see a $150 increase.
Pilgrim preparations and on-ground updates
Aside from the argument about the price, things are moving forward with arrangements. Dr Umer Ahmed Ilyasi, the main Imam of the All India Imam Organisation, said the plans are going well and that for the first time, artificial intelligence will help the pilgrims.
17,000 people are going from Uttar Pradesh alone this year. The first group of pilgrims for 2026, with 371 people, left New Delhi on April 18th with Kausar Jahan, Chairperson of the Delhi Hajj Committee, there to see them off.
Ilyasi wished the pilgrims well and thanked the Uttar Pradesh and central governments for their work. He said that using AI to provide services is a very important improvement that will be noticed around the world.
Why the cost debate matters now
Now that people are traveling, a late change to the flight prices is quickly affecting family finances. Congress’s demand is adding to the political tension, but the government’s explanation implies they couldn’t have lowered prices much more than they did.
Right now we have two pieces of information: the Haj Committee’s 10,000 Rupee increase, and the government’s claim that they lowered the airline’s initial $400 request to $100 for those going with the Haj Committee and $150 for private operators.
It will be important to understand how these numbers affect each person’s specific travel plans as the schedule gets busier. Everyone is now looking to the Haj Committee of India and the ministry for more details. For the pilgrims themselves, their priority is to pay for and schedule their flights as more and more flights are added.
