Flynas has completed the airlift of 2026 Hajj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to Nigeria in two weeks record time, and thanked President Bola Tinubu and Nigerian Hajj Commission for supporting it to conduct a seamless operation.
The airline airlifted the last batch of Kebbi State pilgrims back to Nigeria on Saturday, 20 June, 2026, officially marking the end of this year’s operation.
A statement released by the Flynas Media Office Abuja and signed by Mr Mahmood Muhammad Abande, on Monday, said the airline operated 32 flights to Nigeria in the inbound operation that started on June 4, 2026.
The statement quoted the Managing Director/CEO of First Planet Limited and Flynas General Sales Agent (GSA) in Nigeria, Alhaji Umar Kaila, as saying that the airline transported 11,832 pilgrims from Kebbi, Kaduna, Lagos, Ogun, Niger, Nasarawa and Osun states back to Nigeria.
Breakdown of the return journey showed that flynas operated nine flights from King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah to Sir Ahmadu Bello International Airport Birnin Kebbi; six flights to Bola Tinubu International Airport Minna; eight flights to Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos; five flights to Hassan Usman Katsina International Airport Kaduna; and two flights each to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja; and Gateway International Airport Abeokuta.
Flynas expressed its gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for granting the airline all the instructional support to conduct a hitch-free 2026 Hajj operation, and assured him of its readiness and commitment to continue to serve Nigerian pilgrims better in the future.
The airline also thanked the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), under the leadership of Ambassador Isma’il Abbas Yusuf, for its excellent coordination of the successful Hajj operation.
“The professionalism, commitment and dedication displayed by the NAHCON leadership under His Excellency, Ambassador Ismail Abbas Yusuf, and his team of dedicated staff, is unprecedented. Those excellent efforts made it possible to record a seamless outbound and inbound Hajj operation,” Mr Kaila said.
Mr Kaila also thanked the management of Flynas in Saudi Arabia for giving First Planet Limited the opportunity to serve as its GSA in Nigeria for more than one decade — diligently representing its interest while providing excellent services to Nigerian pilgrims.
He also appreciated the maximum cooperation and coordination of the pilgrims by the state governors and the chief executive officers of the pilgrims boards, agencies and commissions of Kebbi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Osun, Kaduna, Ogun and Niger states.
Mr Kaila said the airline had deployed six wide-body Airbus A330 for the 2026 Hajj operation, explaining that four of the aircraft have 430 seating capacity each, while the remaining two have 345 each.
Flynas has been in Nigeria since 2014 as part of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia.
The airline boasts a fleet of more than 160 aircraft, operating over 1,500 weekly flights across 139 routes to more than 70 domestic and international destinations in 30 countries.
