Nigeria’s 2026 Hajj return operation kicked off Wednesday with 560 pilgrims from Nasarawa State flying home first.
National Hajj Commission of Nigeria said MaxAir flight NGL267 left Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport at 09:27hrs and landed in Abuja with the Nasarawa batch.
Flynas, one of Saudi Arabia’s designated carriers for Nigerian pilgrims, will follow with pilgrims from Ogun and Kebbi States on June 4. The airline deployed six A330 wide-body jets for the inbound airlift to speed up transport.
Ogun pilgrims will land at Gateway International Airport, Abeokuta. Kebbi pilgrims will touch down at Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport, Birnin Kebbi. Flynas plans two more flights to both cities on June 5.
Alhaji Umar Kaila, MD/CEO of First Planet Travels and Flynas GSA in Nigeria, said the airline moved 11,342 pilgrims and officials to Saudi Arabia in 30 flights over two weeks during outbound operations. Return flights will also cover Lagos, Osun, Kaduna, and Niger States alongside Kebbi, Ogun, and Nasarawa.
