As the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims entered its second week, the departure of intending pilgrims from six Northern states to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will take full swing on Wednesday.
Spokesperson for the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) Fatima Usara in a statement indicated that the pilgrims are from Kaduna, Yobe, Kano, Adamawa, Borno, and Sokoto.
Kaduna has the largest number of registered intending pilgrims – over 4,600, followed by Sokoto with over 3,500 – and Kano with 3,100 pilgrims.
According to Usara, a total number of 10,675 Nigerian pilgrims have been flown to the Kingdom in six days by the three approved airlines.
“By the end of 20th May 2024 being Day 6 of 2024 airlift, FlyNas has transported 4,665 pilgrims followed by Max Air with 4,479. Air Peace has so far conveyed 1,531 pilgrims within the six days of operations making a combined total of 10,675 pilgrims that have been flown to the Kingdom as at 20th of May,” Usara said.
“Thus far, no flight cancellation has been recorded except for a flight delay that resulted in a time shift that affected the Kwara inaugural flight; moving it from yesterday 20th May, 2024 to early hours of today Tuesday 21st May.
“Delightedly, Nasarawa state is the first to conclude airlift of its pilgrims totaling 1,794 for the 2024 Hajj season. Oyo and Armed forces are expected to conclude conveyance of their pilgrims tonight with one leg each remaining.”
The commission however urged pilgrims to remain calm and mindful of the commission’s policy of First-in-First-Out (FIFO) sequence of flight arrangements which means return from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria will follow the same pattern of departure from Nigeria.
Usara added that all pilgrims are expected to spend same estimated number of days in the Kingdom according to their time of conveyance.
In another development, NAHCON noted that the initial challenge in the issuance of Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) to pilgrims has been resolved and “Each pilgrim is now entitled to 500 Dollars cash as BTA as approved by NAHCON in place of a credit card.”
