Max Airline will today begin the transportation of intending pilgrims from 13 states for the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

The company's media consultant, Ibrahim Dahiru, said this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday in Abuja.

He said that the inaugural flight would be on Thursday from the Maiduguri International Airport.

Dahiru said that the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria had allocated a total of 16,000 pilgrims from the 13 states to be transported by the company for the pilgrimage.

The states are, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Katsina, Kogi, Niger, Benue, Jigawa, Plateau, Borno, Nasarawa, Kwara and Taraba.

Dahiru said that the company would use two Boeing 747 – 400 for the 2022 Hajj exercise.

Max Air has been involved in the transportation of pilgrims from Nigeria and some African countries to Saudi Arabia since 2007.

Meanwhile, the FCT Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board says it will commence camping of 2022 intending pilgrims at the Permanent Hajj Transit Camp, Bassan Jiwa, near the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport Abuja.

The board director, Malam Nasiru Danmallam, who made this known in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the camping was to prepare the intending pilgrims for their transportation to Saudi Arabia.

Danmallam disclosed that the first flight of FCT intending pilgrims was scheduled to take off on Friday and requested those in the first flight to report on Thursday from 10a.m. for the collection of their travel documents and other preparations for their transportation.

The director explained that intending pilgrims would be subjected to a mandatory PCR test, in line with the guidelines for 2022 Hajj by Saudi Arabian authority.

He, therefore, advised them to report for the exercise and abide by the laid down regulations.

He disclosed that the intending pilgrims should check for their flight schedules at the head office of the board in the Central Area, or at the permanent Hajj camp to know their schedules.

He said the board had taken measures to ensure compliance of all guidelines for the exercise and it had started receiving visas for FCT 2022 intending pilgrims, while arrangements for the Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) had been concluded.

No fewer than 2000 intending pilgrims from the FCT are expected to be transported from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport for the exercise in 2023