Haj Committee announced increase of 10 thousand rupees in Haj fare, Asaduddin Owaisi said – this is exploitation of pilgrims.

New Delhi. The Middle East Conflict has also affected Haj Pilgrimage. The Haj Committee has decided to increase the Haj airfare by Rs 10,000 in view of the huge increase in ATF prices due to the Iran dispute. Haj Committee works under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. There is a lot of anger among the pilgrims going on Haj Pilgrimage due to this decision.

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The opposition has demanded the government to withdraw it. A government circular said that this one-time change in airfares was necessary in view of the current situation in the Middle East. Global ATF (aviation turbine fuel) prices have more than doubled since the Iran war began on February 28. ATF prices generally constitute 30-40 per cent of an airline’s operating costs.

This increase in prices has affected the functioning of many airlines. The Haj Committee circular said that under the revised airfare, every pilgrim will have to pay an additional amount of USD 100 irrespective of where they are starting the journey from. This amount will have to be paid by the pilgrims only. It further states that all the pilgrims going on Haj Pilgrimage this year will have to deposit Rs 10,000 as the amount of difference in airfare by May 15.

The Haj Committee is demanding an additional ₹10,000 from Haj pilgrims as “differential airfare.” This is despite collecting ₹90,844 per pilgrim a couple of months ago departing from Mumbai Embarkation Point. This is almost DOUBLE the prevalent rates for individual travelers.… pic.twitter.com/k6xUYkFAsK

— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) April 30, 2026

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This is exploitation of pilgrims

Haj pilgrims have not liked the increase in air fares. The opposition has also supported him, terming this increase as “injustice”. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi has appealed to the Central Government to withdraw this circular. Owaisi has said that the extra charge of Rs 10,000 is just an exploitation.

Owaisi wrote on X Post that all this is happening when a few months ago, Rs 90844 was taken from every pilgrim leaving from Mumbai Embarkation Point. This is almost double the rates for solo travelers. He further asked whether the pilgrims going through the Haj Committee are being punished? Most people are not rich. They save money for years to go to Hajj. It is not a luxury for them. Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi raised the question that why did the government need to increase the airfare just before the Haj Pilgrimage? Pratapgarhi said that when the entire fare was already fixed, why was this increase imposed at the last moment?

Government’s response

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As the controversy escalated, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju gave clarification on behalf of the government. Rijiju said that due to the increase in ATF prices, the airlines had initially asked for an additional fare of $300-$400 from each passenger. However, the government negotiated and reduced this increase to just $100.

Rijiju wrote, “We cannot even blame the airlines for increasing the ATF prices. This decision was taken with full transparency and in good faith so that there is no hindrance in the conduct of Haj Pilgrimage. The Ministry of Minority Affairs also issued a detailed clarification on the opposition’s allegations of “exploitation”. It said that due to the government’s intervention, passengers saved $200-$300. He said that this is not exploitation, this is an act of exploitation by the government. To withstand the pressure and save the pilgrims from a much greater burden.