The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia has published pilgrims’ Hajj flight timetables.
According to a statement released yesterday, Saudi airports will open on Sunday, May 21, 2023, for the first flight carrying Hajj pilgrims, and close to arrivals on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Flights carrying pilgrims departing for the Hajj from Saudi Arabia will start on July 2 and end on August 2, according to the airline schedule.
All participating nations were urged by GACA to submit their operating criteria by the end of business on February 20.
Although the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) recently published an advertisement for the application and selection of carriers for the Hajj in 2023, the commission and other participating missions have less than 30 days to finalize the required aviation protocol and submit their schedules to the Saudi authorities.
Through a thorough selection procedure, the Saudi Arabia Flynas, Azman Air, and Max Air were eventually chosen for the Hajj operations.
Following the revocation of COVID-19 protocols and the restoration of full capacity, over two million pilgrims are anticipated to conduct the Hajj. Additionally, Nigeria received the entire 95,000 versus the 43,003 allowed in 2022.
To strengthen economic ties, NAHCON has signed a cooperative agreement with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
Alh. Zikrullah Hassan, the delegation’s leader and Chairman of NAHCON, stressed the importance of the bank’s support and intervention in the area of job opportunities for Nigerians during bilateral talks between the two parties at the bank’s Jeddah headquarters.
According to Mousa Ubandawaki, the assistant director of information and publications at NAHCON, the chairman also asked the IsDB for assistance in developing capacity, facilitating the full launch of the Hajj Institute of Nigeria (HIN), and supplying medical supplies to NAHCON facilities.
Dr. Umar Adiya, the IsDB’s deputy coordinator general, reaffirmed the bank’s readiness to continue supporting Nigeria. He continued by saying that the nation will be given priority and that it had always been one of the bank’s partners.
Adiya went on to say that if the bank is to fulfill the goal for which it was established, it is necessary to investigate the project’s sustainable future.
