* Over 2m expected for this year’s Hajj pilgrimage
No fewer than 27,972 Nigerian pilgrims have been airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2024 by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) since the beginning of operations two weeks ago, Muslim News findings have revealed.
The data released by the Commission’s Command and Control Center on Wednesday, May 29 around 10:30pm (Nigerian time) showed that 27,972 Nigerians have been transported to the holy land in 67 flights.
The breakdown of the figures showed that male pilgrims constitute 16,921 while female pilgrims are 11,051 with 24,319 arriving through Madinah and 3,653 through Jeddah.
As at the time of updating this report on Wednesday, May 29 at exactly 10:30pm (Nigerian time), Muslim News gathered that FlyNas has transported 11403 pilgrims followed by Max Air with 12011. Air Peace has so far conveyed 4558 pilgrims within the last seven days.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia’s General Directorate of Passports had earlier announced that a total of 532,958 pilgrims had arrived in the Kingdom for this year’s Hajj season.
Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that this figure is that of pilgrims entering the Kingdom through all border crossings.
The majority of pilgrims – 523,729 – arrived by air, 9,210 crossed land borders, and 19 arrived by sea.
The Saudi directorate emphasised its commitment to facilitating a smooth arrival experience for all pilgrims.
The outward airlift of Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia began on Wednesday, May 15 and will last until June 10 or hopefully earlier as pilgrims travel in groups of 45 under Saudi Arabia’s guidelines.
Over two million Muslims from around the world are expected to converge on Islam’s holiest city of Makkah and nearby sites in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, which commences from the evening of Friday, June 14 till the evening of Wednesday, June 19.
The timing is contingent upon the sighting of the moon of Dhul Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar.
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