A few hours before the closure of the airspace, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has airlifted 70,837 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. The commission commenced airlift operations on the 25th of May 2023.
On Thursday data by NAHCON Command and Control Unit indicated that the FLYNAS flight with registration number XY5642 departed Sokoto to Madinah at 08:23 pm with 386 Kebbi pilgrims, making it the 171 flight since the commencement of the operations.
Blueprint reported that the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah allocated 95,000 hajj slots to Nigeria.
Consequently, NAHCON distributed 75,000 to 36 States, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, and the Nigeria Army and gave the remaining 20,000 to private tour operators.
The Commission has out of its 75,000 slots distributed to states and others airlifted 70,837 pilgrims to the only land, left with 4,163 prospective pilgrims to be airlifted.
NAHCON has promised that all Nigerian pilgrims will be airlifted before the closure of Saudi Arabia airspace slated for today, 24 June 2023.
Blueprint gathered that about 4000 prospective pilgrims signed to go through the Arik airline, while 16,000 were billed for other scheduled flights.
After resolving all issues, Arik Airline on Monday airlifted 413 private pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
However, further investigation showed that the Association of Hajj and Umrah Operators of Nigeria (AHUON), has airlifted a few and hoping for NAHCON to their rescue.
AHUON National President, Alhaji Nasidi Yahaya on Thursday told our correspondent that all the private pilgrims shall be airlifted before the closure of the Saudi Arabia airspace.
He stated, “Certainly there a lot of tour operators on the ground in collaboration with NAHCON, 3 flights operated on Wednesday, one from Lagos, from Kano and Abuja.”
On the number of pilgrims they have airlifted so far, AHUON President said, “We have over 3,000 pilgrims on the ground, by tomorrow we will have another 3 flights. NAHCON is also arranging other flights that will evacuate all of us.”