Srinagar: Following the J&K Hajj Committee’s announcement that the majority of luggage traveling from Ahmedabad to Srinagar would be transported separately by road due to operational restrictions relating to a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen), Hajj pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir have voiced intense displeasure.
The Jammu and Kashmir Hajj Committee said on Friday that pilgrims from Saudi Arabia would start flying to Srinagar for the Hajj on June 2, 2026.
However, the Committee stated that pilgrims will fly from Ahmedabad to Srinagar while the majority of their luggage would be sent separately by road, citing instructions difficulty landing aircraft with big loads at Srinagar Airport. According to the statement, all pilgrims would undergo immigration and customs clearance in Ahmedabad before to their departure to Srinagar.
On the Ahmedabad-Srinagar trip, each pilgrim will only be permitted to bring one piece of hand luggage up to seven kilograms and five kilograms of check-in luggage. The announcement also stated that any additional luggage, up to a maximum of 30 kg per pilgrim, will be driven to Srinagar.
In order to make handling and transportation easier, pilgrims traveling in the same cover group have also been instructed to keep their checked bags together. Additionally, the Committee mandated that no single item of luggage weigh more than 22 kg.
The warning states that following arrival, the road-transported luggage can be picked up from Hajj House Srinagar.
However, many returning pilgrims and their families are worried about the choice because they fear delays, annoyance, and potential damage to their valuables during the lengthy road trip from Ahmedabad to Srinagar.
A number of pilgrims voiced concern about the possibility of perishable goods, including dates and Zamzam water containers, being spoilt or damaged during transportation from Saudi Arabia.
Some pilgrims expressed dissatisfaction at the extra difficulty, claiming that they were now having to deal with logistical difficulties on the last part of their journey home, even though they had paid some of the highest Hajj package prices in the nation.
“We already go through a drawn-out and exhausting trek. “We expected smoother arrangements for our return after paying such high costs,” a pilgrim remarked.
Meanwhile speaking to The News Now, Dr. Shujaat Ahmad Qureshi, Executive Officer of the J&K Hajj Committee, Hajj 2026 is coming to a conclusion. Some respected pilgrims have already reached Makkah, and some will reach Makkah right after the Muzdalifah/Arafat rituals, Insha’Allah. So, alhamdullilah, the Hajj went well.
But regarding the Srinagar embarkation point, as you already know, there is a NOTAM. A notice has already been issued since April, running up to October, that it is under maintenance. So, the runway strip available to us for landing at this time is quite short. Because of this, heavily loaded aircraft are unable to land, he said.
Keeping these things in mind, the maximum portion of our luggage—meaning 30 kg out of the 35 kg total—will be transported through road transport from Ahmedabad to Srinagar, he said.
Adding that he said as for the question regarding the luggage weight cut, we had notified the respected pilgrims about this approximately 15 to 20 days ago, informing them that your load would be reduced. This load cut has happened across all four embarkation points that this airline is handling—which are Bengaluru, Cochin, Ahmedabad, and Srinagar. Across all four embarkations, the load has been cut from 40 kg to 35 kg. Meaning now, the respected pilgrims are allowed 35 plus 7: 35 kg check-in baggage and 7 kg hand baggage.
Apart from that, the 5 liters of Zamzam water for the pilgrims has already arrived at the airport here. Insha’Allah, when the respected pilgrims arrive here, they will be given that 5 liters of Zamzam right at that time., he said.
Asked about the allegation that they paid money for 40 kg but are only being allowed 35 kg.
He said, look, according to our guidelines, as I have already stated and as we also mention during the training sessions, our agreement is always for 40 plus 7. But there is a technical difficulty regarding aircraft landing or aircraft take-off. Due to the issues arising from that, these changes have to be made. This is not done deliberately—it’s not like we tell the pilgrims we will provide 40 kg and then intentionally give them 35 kg.
