Hajj 2015 exercise commenced in Lagos zone yesterday with the airlifting of 540 pilgrims by Med-View Airline to the holy land in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims from Ogun State were airlifted in two jumbo aircraft B777-200ER and B767-300ER, from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Ikeja, Lagos, by the designated carrier.
Speaking with journalists at the event, Managing Director, Med-View Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole, said the pilgrims airlifting would continue for the next two weeks when the over 9,000 pilgrims allotted to the airline by the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, would be airlifted to the holy land. Bankole said the return leg would commence immediately after conclusion of the first leg.
He noted that the airline would operate from four airports; Lagos for South West, Port Harcourt – South South; Enugu for South East states and Maiduguri for Borno State pilgrims.
He added that officials of NAHCON for the zone have expressed satisfaction over Med-View Airline preparedness for the airlift when they inspected the aircraft dedicated for the operation on Saturday.
Bankole further assured pilgrims of hitch-free operations throughout the period and told them during documentation at the Hajj camp of Murtala Muhammed Airport that they were being flown direct to Medina.
He said their direct airlifting to Medina would remove the stress and hazard associated with road transportation from Jeddah to Mecca. The Lagos zone comprises Lagos, Ibadan, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Edo and the Armed Forces, while about 76, 000 pilgrims were approved for the exercise nationwide by the Saudi Arabian authorities.
National Mirror
