The flight, Flynas carrier, departed King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, around 10am local time yesterday.
The pilgrims on board are from the Federal Capital, Abuja and eleven officials.
Earlier it was reported that the first airlift will be today with Gombe State pilgrims.
The earlier schedule that Gombe State pilgrims will be the first to be airlifted was however changed probably due to NAHCON’s laid down rules; though no explanation was giver by the airline operators.
It can be recalled that NAHCON has a standing rule over the years that the first to come will be the first to go. The first flight during the start of the operation over a month ago was launched in Abuja with FCT pilgrims.
Later in the day, about 300 pilgrims from Gombe State were also airlifted. They departed King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah to Gombe at about 5pm Saudi time.
The airlift operation for returning Nigerian pilgrims is expected to come to an end on 5th October.
Few hours before the commencement of the airlift back home, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, was again called upon to ensure, in subsequent years, that all Nigerian pilgrims were accommodated in houses closed to the Haram in Makkah as fully obtained this year in Madina.
The Chairman Senate Committee on foreign Affairs, Senator, Alhaja Monsurat Sumonu made the call at the Post-Arafat Stakeholders Meeting Tuesday night in Makkah.
Senator Monsurat expressed displeasure over the distance of over two kilometres some pilgrims have to cover to get to the Haram from their houses.
She further stated that the joint Committee of the National Assembly would be visiting some pilgrims houses before their departure to Nigeria, to complete assessment of the exercise they began on arrival to the holy land in order to confirm that pilgrims were not shortchanged and that they really got value for their money.
Senator Monsurat urged NAHCON to wield the big stick on any State Pilgrims Welfare Board found to have defrauded its pilgrims.
She commended NAHCON for effectively wading through the typhoon of challenges faced this year, particularly at the Mashaa’ir areas.
In his remarks, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Saudi-Nigeria Inter-parliamentary Friendship and Hajj matters, Dr. Abdullah Balarabe Selame commended NAHCON’s handling of this year’s Hajj, saying there is however, still room for improvement.
Responding, the Chairman of the Commission, Barrister Abdullah Mukhtar Muhammad, confirmed that the Commission has already swung into action to ensure that next year a large number of Nigerian pilgrims are housed few metres away from the Haram in Makkah, saying, this can be achieved without much heavier financial implications.
He however, said it will require cooperation, good will and understanding from the State Pilgrims Welfare Boards.
Barrister Abdullah stated that a comprehensive plan was being worked out to pull resources together between NAHCON and the the state Boards for the realisation of this objective.
The Chairman opined that there was need also to put heads together among Muslim nations for a round table discussion on a realisable and manageable quota of pilgrims for all nations to reduce pressure on the facilities at Mashaa’ir areas.
Meanwhile, it was suggested during the post-arafat stakeholder’s meeting that the practice of sending old persons, who can hardly bear the rigours of Hajj exercise to perform the annual religious rites, should be discouraged.
The NAHCON’s Commissioner in charge of health matters, Dr. Ibrahim Kana gave the advice while submitting his report at the meeting.
He said it was touching and disheartening to see the hardship the extremely elderly persons undergo during the Hajj rites, which in almost all cases they go through without guides or assistants, pointing out that there’s a limit to which Hajj officials can go in handling such cases.
He, therefore, advised that a policy on age limit be considered for anyone going on Hajj or stringent guidelines be put in place to ensure that such elderly persons are not allowed to embark on this all important religious duty without competent and able bodied assistants to take care of all their needs, without unnecessarily tasking the inadequate Hajj officials with responsibilities that are not supposed to be theirs
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