Jakarta. The Indonesian government has said that the hajj departures remained on schedule despite the Iran war, with the first batch of pilgrims set to leave the country on April 22.

Indonesia — the world’s largest Muslim-majority country — is sending 221,000 people for Hajj this year. Hajj is a major pilgrimage that able Muslims must perform at least once in their lives. The Iran war, which had culminated in airspace closures in the Gulf, sparked worries over cancellations of the Indonesian Hajj pilgrims. Hajj Minister Mochamad Irfan Yusuf recently said that there was nothing to worry about.

“As of 9 a.m. [March 24], there are no changes to the 2026 Hajj departure schedule. Hopefully, the departure scheduled for April 22 will proceed as planned without any changes,” Irfan said in Surabaya on Tuesday.

According to Irfan, the Saudi authorities have confirmed that everything remained on schedule — be it for Hajj or the minor pilgrimage of Umrah. The minister went on to say that any pilgrims leaving the country for Hajj will certainly get their tickets to travel back home. 

The government has also prepared all the necessities for the Hajj pilgrimage — ranging from accommodations, catering services, to hotels. Despite reports of Saudi Arabia-bound flights getting suspended, Irfan said: “There are [alternative] routes available”.

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