TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced that the cost of the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage for Indonesian pilgrims will remain Rp2 million lower, even as jet fuel prices rise amid global oil market pressures.
“We will ensure that the 2026 Hajj cost is reduced by around Rp2 million, even though jet fuel prices have increased,” Prabowo said during a government working meeting at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Speaking before around 800 government officials, Prabowo said the government does not want to place a heavier financial burden on Indonesian Hajj pilgrims, especially at a time when global crude oil prices, including aviation fuel, have surged.
The Indonesian government and the House of Representatives had previously agreed in 2025 to lower the Biaya Penyelenggaraan Ibadah Haji (BPIH), or the total cost of Hajj services, by Rp2 million for the 2026 pilgrimage season.
As a result, the BPIH for this year was set at Rp87,409,366 per pilgrim.
In a separate meeting with Commission VIII of the House of Representatives, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf said President Prabowo had instructed that any increase in Hajj cost components this year should not be passed on to Indonesian pilgrims.
Irfan explained that before the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States escalated, the average flight cost per pilgrim was estimated at around Rp33.5 million.
However, after the conflict broke out and pushed up aviation fuel prices, airlines proposed additional charges.
Under a scenario in which flight routes remain unchanged, the average airfare per pilgrim is projected to rise to Rp46.9 million, an increase of 39.85 percent.
Meanwhile, if airlines are forced to reroute flights to avoid conflict zones, the cost could climb to Rp50.8 million per person, or roughly 51.48 percent higher than the previous estimate.
According to Irfan, state-owned carrier Garuda Indonesia has proposed an additional charge of around Rp7.9 million per pilgrim, while Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Airlines has requested an increase of US$480 per passenger.
Despite the pressure from higher flight costs, the government has maintained its position that the overall Hajj cost for Indonesian pilgrims should remain lower than previously planned.
However, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Irfan stressed that President Prabowo’s directive remains the government’s main reference in formulating policy.
“That is President Prabowo’s commitment, and he has asked us and the team to follow it up and calculate exactly what is needed,” Irfan said.
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