The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria disclosed on Monday that it is targeting to complete the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria on August 3 after completing Hajj in 2023.
This was made known by NAHCON’s Deputy Director, Information and Publications, Alhaji Mousa Ubandawaki, who gave the assurance while speaking with newsmen from Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, noting that the commission was targeting August 3 to complete the inbound airlift of the pilgrims while working hard to meet the target.
The assurance is coming as the Hajj body, as of 7:00 p.m., Saudi time (5:00 p.m., Nigerian time), on Monday airlifted a total of 31,533 pilgrims home in a total of 81 flights.
The latest batch of 560 Kano State pilgrims departed Jeddah for Kano at 5 p.m. Monday aboard a Max Air flight.
Meanwhile, he could not give the exact figure of pilgrims that went on pilgrimage with members of the Association of Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria, known as tour operators. Ubandawaki said two-thirds of those that opted for the approved airline for tour operators, Arik Air, were already back home.
He said, “I cannot say the exact figure (tour operator pilgrims already airlifted) because most of them followed scheduled flights. No way can we know.
“But for those who opted for Arik Air, I think two-thirds of them are back home.”
Another NAHCON official who craved anonymity said the number of pilgrims airlifted could have been more than 31,533 if not for the initial slow pace of the airlift operation.
The slow pace, he said, was due to limited slots granted to the Nigerian airlines involved in the airlift of the country’s contingent to 2023 Hajj to operate from the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, while the Saudi Arabian airline, Fly Nas, had unrestricted access to airlift its quota of the contingent.
“Remember that we commenced the homeward airlift operation on July 4, but the Nigerian airlines were not fully involved in the operation in the first week due to the limited slots approved for them by the Saudi Arabian aviation authorities, the General Authority on Civil Aviation (GACA).
“This explained why it was Fly Nas, a Saudi airliner, that conveyed most of the pilgrims back home in the first week of the operation because it does not have restricted slots allotted to it,” the official said.
He said the CAGA only granted more slots to the five Nigerian airlines, Air Peace, Azman Air, Max Air, and Aero Contractors, approved to airlift pilgrims from the 36 states, including the Federal Capital Territory, and Arik Air, approved for tour operators, after NAHCON’s intervention.
The commission had, through a press release signed by Ubandawaki on Tuesday last week, informed the public that it had secured more slots for the five Nigerian airlines involved in the airlift of pilgrims from the state pilgrim welfare boards and tour operators to enable them to operate from the airport in Jeddah.
With this development, the Hajj body announced that as of last Wednesday, all five Nigerian airlines would begin to operate their inbound flights optimally.
The statement stated that this was the outcome of the high-level meeting between the commission and GACA on the slow pace of the airlift operation.
Ubandawaki had informed us that despite several representations, including the intervention of the Nigerian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Amb Dauda Yahaya Lawal, little was achieved until the issue was escalated to the highest level of government before the situation was finally resolved.
