By DEJI ABDULWAHAB

The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) says it has recorded the return airlift of 17, 347 Nigerian pilgrims from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The commission, in an airlift operation update, also said that nine states had completed the return airlift of their pilgrims.

It listed the states that have completed their return airlift to include Nasarawa, Gombe, Kogi, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Jigawa, Kwara and Plateau.

It said that Lagos, Kebbi and Federal Capital Territory had gone above 65 per cent to 80 per cent.

“The return airlift of Nigerian pilgrims has entered its tenth day and is progressing steadily in line with return leg slots allocation secured by each of the official air carriers.

“As at the time of this report, a total of 17, 347 have been transported from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Nigeria.

“Some states have successfully concluded the return journey of their pilgrims, while others have reached various stages of completion.”

The commission, however, said some states had yet to commence their return flights following NAHCON’s policy of first-in-first-out enforced on each airline.

“For instance, pilgrims from the South-South states departed Nigeria on May 19, 2026, while Kano pilgrims commenced their outbound airlift from Nigeria on May 16, 2026 and Kaduna pilgrims on 14th May, 2026.

“States yet to begin the return journey are Adamawa, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe and Zamfara states, as well as the Armed Forces.

“As for Adamawa and Taraba states that began their airlift fairly early, their official carrier is still airlifting its allocated pilgrims proportionate to its secured airlift slots.”

According to NAHCON, the return schedule is determined by the airlift slots secured by the designated airlines.

It advised the designated airlines to take measures to complete the airlift within the agreed 19 days window, which had been planned to cover the period of pilgrims’ accommodation, feeding, transport and medical services.

“As backed by contractual agreements, the commission will implement a contingency rescue plan if it becomes obvious that any airline can not meet up with the schedule.”

Meanwhile, the Chairman/CEO of NAHCON, Amb. Ismail Yusuf, assured all pilgrims, their families and the general public of the timely return of every Nigerian pilgrim.

Yusuf said that all Nigerian pilgrims would be airlifted back home well before the Saudi deadline for the departure of pilgrims, which falls on the 15th of Muharram, the Gregorian date of which is June 30.

“NAHCON appreciates the cooperation of pilgrims and their families, the airlines and all stakeholders; and will continue to provide regular updates on the return airlift operations,” he said. (NAN)

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