Max Air, Air Peace gets FG approval for Hajj operations in 2024.

Three airlines will be the sole transporters of pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2024, according to official consent from the federal government.

According to Fatima Sanda Usara, the Commission’s Assistant Director in Charge of Public Affairs, the airlines in question are Air Peace Ltd., FlyNas, and Max Air.

In addition, three additional air cargo companies have been authorised by the government to transport the excess baggage of pilgrims via air. Among them are Nahco Aviance, Cargo Zeal Technologies Ltd., and Qualla Investment Limited.

This green light shows that the administration is serious about making sure that Nigerians who want to embark on pilgrimages may do it safely and easily. As a result, the following was the distribution of pilgrims from different states to the authorised airlines by the federal government:

i. The following states and localities are served by Air Peace: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, FCT, Imo, Kwara, Ondo, Riverside, and Rivers.
ii. Nigerian cities such as Sokoto, Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Yobe, and Zamfara would be served by FlyNas for the purpose of airlifting pilgrims.
“iii. The pilgrims from Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Katsina, Kogi, Nasarawa, Adamawa, Oyo, Taraba, Kaduna, Armed Forces, Gombe, Jigawa, and Plateau would be transported by Max Air, which has the largest allocation,” the statement said in part.

There is an existing Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Saudi Arabia and Nigeria regarding the airlift of pilgrims under the government quota, which the Commission further stated was followed while allocating pilgrims to the airlines.

Nevertheless, state governments have the option to select any of the authorised goods businesses to transport the extra baggage of their pilgrims. The statement stated that the decision should be informed to the Commission in the event that any state enters into such an exclusive arrangement.