No fewer than 849 pilgrims from Lagos State have so far been airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the inaugural flight began on Wednesday.
This was revealed by the Amir-ul-Hajj, Dr AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, after the second batch of the pilgrims departed for Madinah.
The second flight conveying the pilgrims took off on Thursday at exactly 11.01pm with 429 pilgrims drawn from Alimosho, Apapa, Amuwo-Odofin, Badagry/Ojo, Epe, Eti-Osa and Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Areas as well as officials of the Board which include medical personnel.
Dr AbdulHakeem who is the immediate past Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs appealed to the pilgrims to be good ambassadors of the state while in the Holy land.
He emphasized that God has been favorable to the state considering the smooth airlifting exercise recorded so far this year.
He stressed further that after Katsina State, Lagos was the only state whose pilgrims were ready for airlifting, adding that with this development, others have become envious of the State.
The Amir-ul-Hajj also expressed his appreciation to the management of flynas airline for providing quality service delivery for Lagos pilgrims.
He said that the Airbus A330 used for the operation was a modern plane with the capacity to accommodate a large number of pilgrims in a trip unlike when smaller planes were used to convey pilgrims of some states in the previous years which slowed down the operation.
It would be recalled that 420 Lagos pilgrims were airlifted during the inaugural flight on Wednesday.
Source: Hajjreporters
