The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has concluded arrangements to begin the airlifting of pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj.
The commission also stated that an agreement had been reached with the designated airlines to return all pilgrims by July 2, 2025.
The decision was reached at a meeting with State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board Executive Secretaries under the Forum of States, including representatives of the airlines, on Wednesday at the Hajj House in Abuja. The meeting was to assess the level of preparedness of the State Pilgrims’ Boards.
NAHCON Chairman Professor Abdullah Saleh Usman reminded the stakeholders that the Hajj industry is in the last phase of preparation before the commencement of the 2025 Hajj season. He called on the states to update NAHCON on the level each state has reached in visa production, vaccination, bags procurement, and other sundry matters.
During the meeting, the Honorable Commissioner for Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, disclosed that Air Peace has been assigned 5,128 pilgrims cumulatively from Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Armed Forces, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, Rivers, and Taraba states.
FlyNas, on the other hand, was allocated 12,506 pilgrims from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT Abuja), Kebbi, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. FlyNas is bringing in nine aircraft for the operation.
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Max Air is airlifting pilgrims from Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Oyo, and Plateau states. The airline promised to conclude the airlift of its 15,203 maximum by May 24. Two aircraft will be deployed for the operation: a B747 with a capacity of 400 and a second aircraft with a capacity of 560.
Umza has been allocated 10,163 pilgrims from Kaduna, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Niger, and Yobe states. Umza is deploying two aircraft: a B747 with a capacity of 477 and a B777 with a capacity of 310.
The 2025 Hajj airlift distribution was calculated based on a total of 43,000 pilgrims. The Commissioner for Planning, Research, Statistics, Information & Library Services (PRSILS), Prof Abubakar Yagawal, informed the house of the Commission’s preparedness in terms of clinics secured in Makkah and Madinah, distribution of Yellow Cards to the states, and finally reminded them not to enroll pregnant women for the Hajj exercise.
The meeting further deliberated and settled on May 9 as the date for the inaugural flight, to be concluded by May 24. The inbound flight is tentatively scheduled to commence on June 13 and end by July 2.