New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) The Civil Aviation Ministry Thursday said that it has made all arrangements for the air transport of 125,000 Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia this year.
‘This year approximately 170,000 pilgrims from India will be going for Haj. Out of these, 125,000 pilgrims will go through the Haj Committee of India,’ said the ministry in an official statement.
These 125,000 pilgrims will be carried from 21 embarkation points through chartered flights.
‘Most of the pilgrims will be carried by Saudi Arabian Airlines, National Private Air Services Company Limited (NAS) and Al-Wafeer Air, which have been selected through a sealed tender process,’ the statement said.
The ministry also said that this year, each pilgrim going on Haj through Haj Committee will pay Rs.16,000 plus airport charges, while the other charges will be borne by the government.
National carrier Air India will coordinate the operations and provide support. The Haj terminal at the Indira Gandhi International Airport will be extensively used for the operation as well.
Haj is the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is also the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. Every year the Saudi Arabian government decides the number of pilgrims who can perform Haj.
