Aisha Umar
6 December 2007
The Saudi authorities will close the Jeddah Airport to pilgrims as from the midnight of December 14 , the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) said yesterday.
NAHCON Public Rela-tions officer, Alhaji Umar Bala who made the announcement in Abuja, stated that the Amirul Hajj, Senator Teslim Folarin, has directed the airlines involved in pilgrims airlift to review their flight schedules and ensure that the airlifting operations end by December 11.
However, indications are that the pilgrims airlifting operations may not be concluded before the closure of the Jeddah Airport, as hitches have been reported in various airlifting centres across the country.
In the Maiduguri centre for instance, Mangal Airline, contracted to airlift Borno pilgrims to the holy land, has continued to shun the Maiduguri International airport since last Saturday when its 747 jumbo, departed with about 135 empty seats owing to passengers non-readiness.
Umar said the Amirul Hajj also directed the airlines to increase the number of aircrafts in fleet with a view to meeting the deadline.
He explained that there have been tremendous improvement in the airlift operations, adding that 102 flights have been recorded as at yesterday.
According to Umar, 39,299 pilgrims have been airlifted to Saudi Arabia and some states have completed airlift, some of them include, Nasarawa, Kogi, Katsina.
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