Nigerian Pilgrims have begun journey back home with the first flight convey Nassarawa state pilgrims’ departed King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
The inbound flight which took off at exactly 09:27hrs Saudi time for to Abuja transported 560 passengers onboard MaxAir NGL 267, signal the second leg operation after a successful pilgrimage.
Data obtained from National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) indicated two returning flights scheduled for Thursday with passengers from Kebbi and Ogun states onboard Flynas, a Saudi Arabia designated carrier.
NAHCON’s Head of Aviation, Alhaji Habib Bello, had earlier announced the commencement of the return flights appealed to pilgrims to comply with standard rules on luggage to avoid needless obstruction.
The head of aviation urged pilgrims to adhere to the approved two bags with 23kg each and a 8kg hand luggage, warning that non-compliance could result in delays or removal from flight manifests.
According to him, pilgrims are also required to notify officials at least 48 hours before departure to facilitate passport release, luggage processing and transportation arrangements.
However, flight schedule for the return of Kano Pilgrims’ is yet to be released by the Hajj Commission. Kano Pilgrims’ were part of the last set of intending pilgrims that arrived Saudi Arabia during the outbound airlift.
A total of 38,888 Nigerian pilgrims were transported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the outbound airlift, data from NAHCON control room revealed.
The data indicated four designated carriers airlifted the entire contingents in 98 flights operation within 19 days.
In the breakdown, Max Air transported 14,701 the highest number of pilgrims in 31 flights while the Saudi designated carrier Flynas conveyed 11,005 pilgrims in 30 flight operations.
Similarly, the Nigerian carrier Umza Aviation airlifted 6,917 pilgrims in 16 flights, while Air Peace another Nigerian based airline conveyed 6,265 pilgrims in 21 flights. Further breakdown of the available data shows a total of 24,159 males and 14,729 females Nigerians participated in the 2026 Hajj exercise.
Kebbi state conveyed over 4,000 pilgrims the highest proportion, next to Kano that accounted for about 3,603 pilgrims. Cross River has the least with 15 contingents while Bayelsa came with 17 pilgrims. Abia, Akwa -Ibom, Anambra and Ebonyi States account for zero pilgrim.
