4,000 EgyptAir hajj flights cancelled in crisis-struck Mali

An EgyptAir Airbus 320 aircraft is seen on the tarmac. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)

BAMAKO, MALI - EgyptAir has cancelled its hajj flights to and from crisis-struck Mali, directly impacting more than 4,000 people, the country’s pilgrimage-organizing body said Saturday.

The cancellations come as the west African nation faces a dire security situation, with separatist and jihadist rebels targeting its authoritarian junta.

Large-scale attacks at multiple junta strongholds last weekend killed the country’s defence minister, and jihadists have since begun blocking certain entry points into the capital, Bamako.

The cancellation of the flights was due to “the cost difference related to the increase in kerosene prices, as well as the security situation in Mali”, said the government body that helps Malians participate in the pilgrimage.

Acknowledging that the cancellation “naturally causes concern and confusion”, it said discussions were “underway at a high level” to find a swift solution.

“All arrangements are being made to ensure the pilgrims depart under the best possible conditions,” it said.

The cancellation affects nearly a third of the total quota of 13,323 pilgrims allotted to Mali for the 2026 hajj.

Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by a lottery system.

Pilgrims from across the globe have already begun pouring into Saudi Arabia, with the hajj due to begin during the last week of May.

All Muslims are expected to complete the hajj to Mecca at least once in their lives if they have the means to do so.

Believers converge on the holy city for several days of rituals in which they retrace the Prophet Mohammed’s last pilgrimage.