2025 Hajj: NAHCON Begins Airlift May 9, Targets 40,000 Pilgrims

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced that the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj rituals will commence on May 9, 2025. The target is to cover about 40,000 Pilgrims.

This date was confirmed following discussions at a meeting held on Tuesday between NAHCON officials, Executive Secretaries of State Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Boards, and other stakeholders at the Hajj House in Abuja. The meeting also established that outbound flights would conclude by May 24, while inbound flights (the return journey) are tentatively scheduled to occur from June 13 and end by July 2.

In his remarks during the meeting, NAHCON Chairman Professor Abdullah Saleh Usman reminded attendees that preparations for the 2025 Hajj season are in the final stages. He urged states to keep NAHCON informed about their progress regarding visa production, vaccinations, bag procurement, and other essential matters.

During the meeting, Honourable Commissioner for Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, revealed that Air Peace has been allocated a total of 5,128 pilgrims from Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, the Armed Forces, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Ondo, Rivers, and Taraba states.

FlyNas has been assigned 12,506 pilgrims from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT Abuja), Kebbi, Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Sokoto, and Zamfara states. For this operation, FlyNas will deploy nine aircraft.

Max Air will handle the airlifting of pilgrims from Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Oyo, and Plateau states. It promises to complete the transport of its maximum allocation of 15,203 pilgrims by May 24. Two aircraft will be dedicated to this effort: a Boeing 747 with a capacity of 400 passengers and a second aircraft with a capacity of 560 passengers.

Umza has been assigned 10,163 pilgrims from Kaduna, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Niger, and Yobe states. Umza will utilise two aircraft: a Boeing 747 with a capacity of 477 and a Boeing 777 with a capacity of 310.

The airlift distribution for the 2025 Hajj was calculated based on 43,000 pilgrims.

Additionally, the Commissioner for Planning, Research, Statistics, Information, and Library Services (PRSILS), Professor Abubakar Yagawal, informed the assembly about the Commission’s preparations, including securing clinics in Makkah and Madinah and distributing Yellow Cards to the states. He also reminded attendees that pregnant women should not participate in the Hajj exercise.