The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has airlifted over 16,000 pilgrims in the first ten days since the commission began airlift of pilgrims to the Holy Land for the 2024 Hajj exercise.
This year’s inaugural flight of the 2024 intending pilgrims arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday the 16th of May 2024, after taking off from the Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, in Birnin-Kebbi, the state capital.
On the maiden flight on Flynas flight XY8002, which departed Kebbi for Madinah at 4:54 pm on Wednesday, the 15th of May 2024, 422 prospective pilgrims from the state were on board, including 269 males, 153 females, and seven officials.
The Commission has since completed 40 successful flights, with a total number of 16,794 pilgrims, including 9,794 males and 7,003 females airlifted to the Holy Lands of Madinah and Jeddah.
A further breakdown shows that of the total flights, 35 conveyed 14,515 pilgrims to Madinah while only 5 flights have so far conveyed 2,279 pilgrims to Jeddah. Flynas airlifted 7,186 pilgrims in a total of 17 flights; Max Air airlifted 6,830 pilgrims in 14 flights, while Air Peace airlifted the remaining 2,464 pilgrims in 9 flights.
Of the 32 states and the FCT, who make up the total 51,447 pilgrims scheduled to go on the pilgrimage, Kogi, Nasarawa, and Oyo states, as well as pilgrims from the Armed Forces have been completely airlifted for the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage exercises.
With the 16,794 pilgrims now airlifted, 34,653 intending pilgrims still await airlift to perform their religious obligations in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) says the Commission has reviewed the cost of fares for the 2024 Easter pilgrimage to N4.989 million per pilgrim.
The NCPC boss disclosed this in an exclusive phone interview with The PUNCH on Friday, noting that there was yet no official date for the commencement of airlift of pilgrims to the Holy Lands of Israel and Jordan.
Earlier in January the NCPC announced a fare price of N3 million for each pilgrim.
In a statement by its spokesperson, Celestine Toruka, in December 2023, the commission stated that the cost would cover “return flight, hotel accommodation, three-course meal per day, and tours of holy sites in both Rome and Greece in Executive luxurious buses for six nights and seven days”.
Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Adegbite said the commission had agreed on a new fare price with the State Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards and the amount will be officially announced soon.
“The price is N4.989 million. We just agreed on that now, but we will announce it soon. We have communicated with the States, so they know already. As for the commencement of the pilgrimage itself, there is no official date yet”, he said.
Meanwhile, the NCPC has reviewed sites to be visited, to Jordan and Israel, and reviewed the number of days spent on the pilgrimage, to ten days. The Executive Secretary stated that the review of the days for the pilgrimage was to reflect the original structure of the pilgrimage exercise.
