Nigeria: Hajj Airlift-Mangal Airline Shuns Maiduguri Airport

3 December 2007

Maiduguri — Trouble loomed on the on-going hajj airlift's horizon at the weekend when Mangal Airline, which was contracted to airlift Borno pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, halted operations at the Maiduguri International airport, accusing the state's Hajj officials of lack of commitment.

Our correspondent reports that the operator, which has so far airlifted 1,200 of the state's 3,285 pilgrims in three flights, has refused to return to Maiduguri airport after its third flight departed on Saturday morning with 100 empty seats. Mangal Airline officials were furious that a Boeing 747 jumbo deployed for the airlift waited for many hours at the Maiduguri airport and had to leave without many passengers. The airline said this would lead to a loss of about N8 million.

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