On Tuesday August 27, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly revoked the licences of 36 Egyptian travel companies for illegally providing Egyptian Hajj (pilgrim) with a Saudi tourist visa, rather than the required Hajj permit. In June of 2024, over 600 Egyptian pilgrims passed away during Hajj. They constituted a disproportionately large portion of the 1,300 pilgrims deceased in total. Most deaths were caused by heat exhaustion and heat strokes, as temperatures reached 51 celsius. The Saudi authorities noted approximately 83% of the deceased travelled without the required Hajj permit. Pilgrims without the permit were denied access to essential services such as air-conditioned tents, transportation, misting centres, and water provided by officials. Egypt’s Response Following the high mortality rate, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi formed a task force to investigate companies suspected of illegally providing pilgrims with tourist visas. The task force was headed by PM Madbouly. Last June, PM Madbouly revoked licences of another 16 travel companies who illegally distributed tourist visas. The managers of these companies were also prosecuted for fraud. This practice is prohibited under Article 21 of the Egyptian Hajj regulation Law, which decrees a fine of EGP…
