Nigerian pilgrims who participated in the 2026 Hajj will begin their journey back to the country today, starting with pilgrims from Nasarawa State.
An update by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria today noted that MaxAir flight NGL267 departed Jeddah for Abuja at 09:27hrs with 560 Nasarawa Pilgrims, reports Channels TV.
A Saudi-designated Nigerian Hajj carrier, Flynas, also noted that the return airlift will be followed by pilgrims from Ogun and Kebbi States tomorrow June 4.
In a statement, the airline said the inbound operations would be conducted using six A330 wide-body aircraft deployed for the exercise to ensure efficient transportation of pilgrims back to Nigeria.
The airline added that the first return flight will convey the initial batch of Ogun State pilgrims from the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to the Gateway International Airport in Abeokuta.
The second return flight, according to the statement, will airlift the first batch of Kebbi State pilgrims from the Jeddah airport to Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, the same day.
The following day, June 5, the airline said it would conduct two additional flights from Jeddah airport to Abeokuta and Birnin Kebbi, respectively.
The statement quoted the Managing Director/CEO of First Planet Travels Limited and General Sales Agent (GSA) for Flynas in Nigeria, Alhaji Umar Kaila, as saying that the airline had concluded arrangements to conduct a seamless operation in line with international best practices.
He said during the outbound operation, Flynas had transported 11,342 pilgrims and officials to the holy land in 30 flights in a record time of two weeks.
The airline will also airlift pilgrims from Kebbi, Lagos, Osun, Kaduna, Niger, Ogun, and Nasarawa states, according to Kaila.
