The airlift of international pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for 2024 hajj will begin on May 8, 2024, the kingdom announced Tuesday evening.
This was revealed by the Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) in a statement published on its official website.
The statement titled, “The time frame for operating hajj season flights 1135/2024,” said foreign pilgrims will start arriving the holy land the annual pilgrimage on Thursday May 9.
The arrival phase of the pilgrims will end on Monday June 10, 2024, according to the official statement.
Also, the template said pilgrims will start departing the holy land on Thursday June 20, 2024.
On the other hand, the departure which will last 30 days, will end on Sunday July 21, 2024, according to the GACA official timetable.
21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reports that the kingdom’s timetable is coming the same day Nigeria’s hajj regulatory agency, NAHCON, issued a December ultimatum to all sub-national pilgrim agencies to complete their hajj fare remittances for the 2024 pilgrimage.
The statement said GACA will begin receiving hajj flights requests airlines from October 23, 2023, and ends it on January 4, 2024.
The GACA said it will start “receiving the requests of Hajj flights begins from (07/04/1445, 22/10/2023), until the end of the working day of Thursday, (22/06/1445, 04/01/2024).
“In case of a discrepancy between the Hijni calendar and the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian calendar will be considered to operate flights.
“In case of any inquiries regarding requests, please contact the Department of Hajj and Umrah via e-mail (hud@gaca.gov.sa).
“In case of any inquiries regarding scheduling Hajj flights, please contact Hajj Flights Scheduling Committee via e-mail (hajjcommittee@gaca.g
“All legal measures will be taken against any air carrier transports pilgrims on (regular or charter) flights, and does not comply with the provisions, rules, and regulations related to the transport of the pilgrims.”
Saudi Arabia has allocated 95,000 pilgrims slot to Nigeria for 2024 hajj, and the hajj commission has directed intending pilgrims to pay N4.5 million as hajj fare deposit.