16,000 Hajj Seats Still Vacant as Private Booking Deadline Approaches

With only a few days left before the private Hajj booking deadline, nearly 16,000 seats remain unfilled, according to official reports.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has announced that the deadline for private Hajj bookings is October 17, after which the online registration portal will close. Officials have confirmed that no extension will be granted beyond this date.

Out of the 60,000 seats allotted for private pilgrims this year, around 44,000 have already been booked. In the past 25 days alone, private Hajj operators have arranged travel for about 23,000 pilgrims.

To avoid wasting any remaining slots, the ministry has urged private Hajj operators to speed up bookings and launch awareness campaigns to inform potential pilgrims about the approaching deadline.

This year, the private Hajj quota was reduced from 90,000 to 60,000, with 38,346 seats assigned to officially approved operators. In addition, 21,654 pilgrims who missed Hajj last year due to various reasons will be accommodated under current arrangements.