* Kogi leads with 100 percent hajj airlift completion, Jigawa, others record mixed progress
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced that 15,495 Nigerian pilgrims have been airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as at the seventh day of the 2026 Hajj airlift operation.
According to the latest update released at 9:45pm on Saturday 9 May 2026 corresponding to 22 Dhu Al Qidah 1447 AH, a total of 37 flights have so far been operated for the exercise.
Out of these flights, 32 landed in Madinah while five arrived in Jeddah.
The commission disclosed that 13,116 pilgrims landed in Madinah while 2,329 were received in Jeddah, reflecting the continued preference for Madinah as the first point of entry for Nigerian pilgrims before moving to Makkah.
The statistics obtained by Muslim News show that 9,465 of the pilgrims are male while 6,030 are female.
NAHCON also provided a state by state progress report showing varying levels of completion across the federation. Some states have fully completed or are close to completion of their airlift while others are still in progress or yet to commence.
Kogi State has recorded 100 percent completion with 473 pilgrims airlifted in one flight. Gombe, Kwara, Ogun, Osun, Oyo and Plateau States are all at 99 percent completion. Jigawa stands at 97 percent while Nasarawa is at 98 percent. Kebbi State has so far airlifted 2,555 pilgrims through six flights, representing 67 percent completion.
However several states including Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara are yet to commence their airlift operations.
In the southern part of the country Lagos State has airlifted 343 pilgrims in one flight representing 21 percent completion while Ondo State stands at 50 percent completion. A number of other southern and eastern states are still at early stages of the operation.
The report further shows that Flynas has so far airlifted the highest number of pilgrims with 5,546 followed by MaxAir with 4,642 pilgrims Air Peace with 3,750 pilgrims and Dasumza with 1,877 pilgrims.
NAHCON stated that with 58 flights still remaining in the early phase of the operation more states are expected to conclude their airlift schedules in the coming days as the 2026 Hajj exercise continues to progress steadily.
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