An important news has come for the Haj pilgrims of Bihar. The central government has canceled Haj pilgrimage flights from Gaya Airport (Gayaji) this year. Flights were going from here for the last 15 years, but this time due to very less number of passengers this decision has been taken. Those who had chosen Gaya as their first choice will now have to travel from Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai or other cities. The ministry has cited economic reasons behind this.
Why was Haj flight from Gaya cancelled?
Thousands of people are going from Bihar for Haj 2026, but there was less enthusiasm regarding Gaya Airport. According to the report, out of the total selected passengers from Bihar, less than 100 people had chosen Gaya Airport as their first choice. Airline company SpiceJet made it clear that it is not possible to run charter flights for such a small number of passengers.
The biggest reason for this was the difference in fares. The Haj fare from Gaya airport was around Rs 4,01,113, while the same fare from Delhi was around Rs 3,26,113. This means that passengers are directly saving about Rs 75,000 when traveling from Delhi. For this reason, most of the passengers themselves have chosen options like Delhi or Kolkata.
When and how will the passengers go?
Haj Committee has prepared the complete schedule of flights. Passengers from Bihar will now leave in two phases. The return flights are scheduled between May 30 and June 30, 2026.
First Step: From 18 April to 4 May (for Medina).
Second step: From May 5 to May 19 (for Jeddah).
Alternative Airport: About 1,383 passengers have now opted for Delhi, the rest will go from Kolkata, Mumbai and Lucknow.
Number of passengers and new rules
A total of 2,556 pilgrims are going on Haj from Bihar this year, which includes 1,466 men and 1,090 women. The highest number of passengers are from Patna district (333), while the least number of passengers (2) are going from Sheohar. For the convenience of passengers, this time for the first time smartwatches will be provided, which will help in location tracking.
According to Saudi Arabia’s rules, children below 12 years of age are not allowed to go on Hajj. Haj Committee has also deployed ‘Khadim-ul-Hujjaj’ (Haj Inspectors) to help the pilgrims who will help them during the journey.