JEDDAH, 22 February 2005 — Saudi Arabian Airlines has reportedly agreed to an out-of-court settlement with Haj and Umrah service firms that threatened to take legal action against it for allegedly causing them financial losses during the last Haj season.
Ayman Al-Siraj, lawyer for some 20 companies that had sought compensation of SR80 million from the airline, said Saudia’s Director General Dr. Khaled Ben-Bakr had agreed to settle the matter.
The settlement was reached after a meeting between Ben-Bakr and Al-Siraj, Al-Madinah Arabic daily reported yesterday quoting the lawyer.
Ben-Bakr, however, asked the companies to produce documents proving their losses during the Haj season. “The settlement comes within the framework of the good relations between Saudia and its clients,” Al-Siraj said. “Saudia will pay compensation once the losses are proven.”
He did not disclose how much money was involved in the settlement. He expects the companies will be able to provide a loss estimate by the end of the week.
In a joint press conference held in Makkah about three weeks ago, the companies accused Saudia of violating an agreement with them when a number of its Haj flights arrived 24 hours late with some pilgrims reaching Makkah on the day of Arafat. Many pilgrims canceled their contracts with the companies as a result of the confusion.
Saudia denied the allegations as baseless and maintained it had done everything possible to transport the pilgrims in time for Haj. “These allegations are unfounded as Saudia has fulfilled its commitment to the Haj service companies by exerting extra efforts to meet their needs and save them from losses,” said a high-level source at Saudia.
“Soon after the announcement by the Supreme Judiciary Council advancing the Arafat Day to Wednesday, we worked out an emergency plan to transport domestic pilgrims and help them reach the holy sites before the beginning of Haj,” the source said. “We had to reschedule more than 50 flights to take pilgrims to Jeddah and Taif from various parts of the Kingdom.”
