FALCON POWERS – The Egyptian Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, has ordered the withdrawal of licenses from 16 travel companies and the referral of their officials to the Public Prosecution on charges of “fraud” for irregularly transporting pilgrims, according to the Cabinet.
The Cabinet statement said that “16 travel companies were initially monitored for committing fraud and transporting pilgrims irregularly, without providing any services to the pilgrims. Hence, the Prime Minister has ordered the swift withdrawal of the licenses of these companies and the referral of the officials to the Public Prosecution, along with fining these companies in favor of the families of the pilgrims who died as a result.”
This came during a meeting where the technical secretariat report of the Crisis Management Cell was reviewed, which indicated that the increase in the death toll of unregistered Egyptian pilgrims was due to some companies organizing Hajj programs with personal visit visas, preventing them from entering Mecca. This was circumvented by walking through desert trails, without providing adequate accommodation, leading to the pilgrims’ exhaustion due to the high temperatures.
Recommendations of the Committee Formed to Follow Up on the Situation of Pilgrims:
- Coordination with the Saudi side to provide facilitations to the victims’ and patients’ families.
- The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to monitor the violating travel companies and take legal action against them.
- Considering the possibility of the violating companies paying fines in favor of the families of victims of irregular Hajj, with the matter being referred to the Attorney General to take the necessary legal action.
- Coordination with the Saudi side regarding DNA analysis of unidentified deceased to match them with their families in Egypt.
- Follow up on the medical cases in Saudi hospitals and explore the possibility of returning them to Egypt once their health stabilizes.
- Developing mechanisms to grant various types of visit visas through coordination with the Saudi side and the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before and during the Hajj season to prevent the overcrowding of unofficial pilgrims within the Kingdom.
