Umrah tour company faces licence revocation after leaving 147 pilgrims stranded

A company organising Umrah tours which left 147 pilgrims stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), on May 8 due to negligence, faces having its operating lincence revoked.

Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the ministry would send a notice to revoke the company''s licence in the near future, with a 14-day appeal period.

"It is not reasonable when the reason given (for the cancellation) is that the accommodation in Makkah is full as they should have been aware that the month of Ramadan was peak period.

"They should have taken early measures to make reservations and so on...and this is a form of mistreating the customers," she said during a press conference held in conjunction with the ''2017 Warna-Warni Aidilfitri'' promotion ceremony here, today.

Mas Ermieyati also advised consumers to check the background of companies operating Umrah tours before purchasing their packages.

She also requested all the affected pilgrims to lodge police reports so that legal action could be taken against the company.

Mas Ermieyati explained that last year, the same Umrah company had also caused 31 pilgrims to be left stranded in Makkah for four days, and failed to provide their return ticket to Malaysia.

She said, however, the company had been penalised for the incident, and paid a compound in February. - BERNAMA