Ace Travels canceled the return tickets of Umrah pilgrims as Mash'ar Group failed to make the necessary payments for the tickets.
The return tickets to the Maldives for individuals who traveled to Umrah under the Mash’ar Group were canceled due to the company’s failure to make payment for the tickets.
Out of the 53 individuals who traveled to Umrah under the group, the cheque issued by them was for the purchase of 50 tickets from Ace Travels and Ace Aviation.
Ace Travels Managing Director, Mohamed Firaq, said that the cheques were received on last Thursday, as the offices were about to close. They deposited the cheques in the bank on Sunday, only to discover on Monday that the cheque had bounced.
The tickets were taken from Sri Lankan Airways and Qatar Airways.
Firaq mentioned that despite the bounced cheque, the individuals were allowed to travel to Mecca from Male’ as the ticketing agent did not wish to cause loss to the pilgrims through no fault of their own. He added that even then, he had hopes of settling the matter through further deliberations.
“We received reports that tickets were procured through other companies as well. We booked 50 tickets”, he said. “However, the cheques issued for these tickets bounced, leading to the cancelation of return tickets yesterday”.
Firaq said that the Mash’ar Group had booked return tickets for Umrah pilgrims for the 16th of this month. He further emphasized that this still provided them with an opportunity to resolve the financial matter and purchase tickets within the timeframe.
The Ministry of Islamic Affairs had revoked Mash’ar Group’s license last year due to delays in payment for tickets of some Umrah pilgrims during Ramadan last year. However, this Ramadan, Mash’ar Group sent people for Umrah without obtaining permission from the ministry.
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