The General Authority for Civil Aviation, GACA, in Saudi Arabia, has approved extension of landing permit for Nigerian Hajj carriers under the umbrella of National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).
According to NAHCON, the extension will commence from 4th to 6th July for one of the airlines ferrying Nigerian pilgrims, whereas 4th and 5th have been approved for others.
The commission in a statement by its spokesperson, Fatima Sanda Usara on Monday said it sought the extension to enable it transport its remaining pilgrims into the Kingdom for 2022 Hajj.
“Of the 43,008 pilgrims expected to arrive Saudi Arabia from Nigeria, 27,359, inclusive of 527 staff as well as committees and board members, under the government quota have been conveyed.
“Similarly, over 5,000 out of the 8,097 Tour Operators’ pilgrims with valid visas were moved through scheduled flights and other arrangements,” the statement said.
It added that the extension was necessitated by excessive flight cancellations and delays.
“Data has shown that, from 10th to 13th of June, nine flights were cancelled due to reasons ranging from inability to secure BTA, insufficient funds for visas, unavailable PCR test results etc.
“In total, 13 flights were cancelled with another 57 delayed take-offs. Seven of which are in two digits, with the highest being 24 hours’ delay, followed by 23 hours delay, 22 hours and lowest in this category are twice 10-hour delays.
” Only 13 flights left on schedule out of the 65 outbound flights so far witnessed from the country,” Mrs Usara said.
She also said ” notwithstanding the difficult situation, NAHCON once again reiterates that God willing, no pilgrim will be left behind as long as that individual has valid travel documents.
“To buttress this fact, frequency of outbound flights improved to seven take-offs yesterday and at full capacity too. Thankfully, one of the carriers, FlyNas, with its four aircraft, will fly four times daily thereby moving 1,732 each day”.
Therefore, the statement said, NAHCON appeals to pilgrims to be calm and to remain prepared for onward conveyance for the 2022 Hajj.
“The Commission regrets any tension and stress intending pilgrims might have experienced during this outbound journey to the holy land,” she added.
She also said the chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Zikrullah Kunle Hassan commends Nigerian pilgrims’ resilience and prays that they all attain Hajj mabrur whose reward is jannatul Firdaus.
He gave assurance that NAHCON management will review the operations to make sure that such inconveniences are never repeated.
Fatima Sanda Usara,
AD, Public Affairs,
NAHCON
