First batch of Hajj Pilgrims fly out from Tamale International Airport

The first batch of 427 Muslim pilgrims from Northern Ghana on Tuesday May 28, 2024, have been airlifted from the Tamale International Airport to Madina, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The pilgrims were flown by the Saudi Commercial Airline, Flynas AIRBUS A 330- 900.

In all, about 1,708 pilgrims from the five regions of the North are expected to fly directly from the Tamale International Airport from Tuesday May 28 to Friday May 31, 2024, while the rest of the prospective pilgrims are to be flown from the Kotoka International Airport in Accra to Jeddah.

A total of over 3,843 pilgrims are expected to be flown from Ghana to Saudi Arabia for this year’s hajj.

The Chairman of the Hajj Board, Ben Abdallah Banda, accompanied by the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Alhassan Shani Sayibu, the Deputy Majority Chief Whip Alhaji Habib Iddrisu, the Executive Secretary of the Hajj Board Alhaji Farouk Hamza and other officials of the Hajj Board saw off the pilgrims at the Tamale International Airport.

The Northern Regional Minister Alhaji Alhassan Shani Sayibu in his remarks, admonished the would-be pilgrims to be discipline and law-abiding during their stay in Saudi Arabia where they would be undertaking spiritual duties.

On his part, expressing his congratulations to the pilgrims for a successful Hajj, he also wished them a safe journey back to Ghana, emphasizing the significance of their spiritual experience.

Addressing the media after seeing the pilgrims off, the Executive Secretary of the Hajj Board, Alhaji Farouk Hamza, assured the Ghanaian pilgrims that adequate measures have been put in place to ensure their welfare and security.

Four flights have been scheduled to fly direct from the Tamale International Airport to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj.

One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj must be undertaken by all Muslims who have the means at least ones in their lives.

Usually, one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, about 1.84 million pilgrims participated in 2023.

The Hajj consists of a series of religious rites that are completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city of Makkah, and its surrounding areas of Western Saudi Arabia.

Story By: Alhassan Yakubu |www.diamondfmonline.com |Ghana.