Gateway Air ready to airlift hajj pilgrims – Abiodun

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has expressed the readiness of Gateway Air, the state-owned airline, to airlift not only Ogun pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Hajj, but also intending pilgrims from other South-West states.

The Governor said Ogun would explore opportunities to participate in the emerging private-sector-driven Hajj airlift arrangement, particularly for pilgrims from Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states.

Abiodun disclosed this on Friday when he received a delegation of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), led by its Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, at his office.

The Governor said the state government had taken note of the new regulations governing private-sector participation in Hajj operations, commending NAHCON for its support towards ensuring the successful and safe airlift of Ogun pilgrims from the Gateway International Airport to Saudi Arabia during the last Hajj exercise.

He said the state had always expressed its desire to charter an aircraft under the Gateway Air brand to airlift its pilgrims directly from the Gateway International Airport.

“We had always expressed interest that, based on what we saw last time, we would like to charter our own aircraft. We would like to brand it Gateway Air, and we would like to airlift our pilgrims ourselves because we believe that we can do it efficiently. The same level of efficiency that we demonstrated in building a world-class airport and also in establishing a world-class airline, Gateway Air, shows that we know how to do things and organise ourselves in Ogun State”, he said.

Earlier, the NAHCON Commissioner of Operations, Prince Anofiu Elegushi, said the commission had commenced registration for the forthcoming Hajj exercise, adding that the registration deadline, which was initially expected to close on Friday, would be extended to accommodate more intending pilgrims.

Elegushi explained that the early commencement of registration was necessitated by the need to provide the Saudi Arabian authorities with accurate figures of intending pilgrims ahead of the exercise.