PUTRAJAYA, February 9 – The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) takes a serious view of the statements of several parties who claim that there are umrah agencies monopolizing the purchase of flight tickets in bulk which has blocked the opportunity for other companies or individuals to obtain tickets for the purpose of performing umrah. At the same time, there were allegations that most of the flight tickets, which should have been given priority to Malaysian pilgrims, had been sold to pilgrims from neighboring countries.
This situation is said to be one of the causes of difficulties in obtaining flight tickets which indirectly increases the cost of Umrah packages lately. Following that, MOTAC held a meeting chaired by YB Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport, Department of Waqf, Zakat and Hajj (JAWHAR), Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM), Commission Competition (MYCC), Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) and AMAL by Malaysia Airlines (AMAL) on 31 January 2023.
The meeting was also attended by the Bumitra Travel Operators Association (BUMITRA), the Malaysian Travel and Tourism Agents Association (MATTA) and the Umrah & Hajj Travel Agencies Association (PAPUH). Members of the Meeting are of the opinion that the Umrah ticket price offered by AMAL is at a reasonable and affordable rate. In the meantime, AMAL as an entity responsible for managing the sale of umrah tickets in the country, targeting Malaysia as a regional umrah flight hub, also sells umrah flight tickets to pilgrims from neighboring countries, especially Indonesia.
However, the number sold to Indonesian pilgrims is only 10% of the total available capacity. Meanwhile, the remaining 90% is offered to Malaysian pilgrims which is still sufficient to be booked by umrah management agencies and Malaysians as well. Claims that state that there is a monopoly for certain companies and advantages are given to Indonesian congregations are not true at all. Even so, AMAL was asked to re-examine the uniformity of umrah flight ticket distribution to ensure that all local umrah operator companies licensed by MOTAC get more open opportunities.
