The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) on Sunday resumed flight operations to Saudi Arabia in five centres for this year’s Hajj.
The flights were suspended on Thursday following the wave of deportation of female pilgrims by the Saudi authorities.
In an exclusive interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, Malam Uba Mana, its spokesman, confirmed the resumption of flight operations in Lagos, Abuja, Minna, Kaduna and Sokoto centres.
Mana said each of the centres would transport no fewer than 1,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia between Sunday and Monday.
He said this was in fulfilment of the commission’s promise?to transport all pilgrims before the close of Saudi Arabia airspace on Oct. 20.
The spokesman said that the commission had less than 60,000 pilgrims who had yet to be transported to Saudi Arabia and that it had the capacity to do so within 10 days.
On the issue that led to the suspension of flight operations on Wednesday, he said that the issue was being resolved at the highest level of government.
He assured the pilgrims that no one would be left behind as the air carriers had been fully mobilised, while the affected female pilgrims would still be transported before the expiration of the deadline.
NAN recalls that the chairman of NAHCON, Malam Muhammad Bello, told newsmen on Saturday in Abuja, that 16,000 pilgrims across eight states were ready to be transported to Saudi Arabia.
He said so far, the commission had transported no fewer than 30,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia with over 55 flight operations.
NAN reports that some Nigerian female pilgrims were detained in Jeddah by the Saudi authorities for lack of a male guardian (Mahram) to the Holy Land.
As a result of the action, the commission repatriated them back and suspended flight operations for 48 hours. (NAN)