The Ghanaian envoy welcoming a pilgrim with a flower as other officials admire the spectacle
Eight hundred and sixty Ghanaian pilgrims constituting the first and second batches of Muslim faithful have already landed in the Saudi city of Madina, their flights having originated from Tamale on Friday and Saturday nights respectively.
The A330 Airbus touched down in the evening of Friday to excited Ghana Hajj Board officials, Ghana Hajj Agents Association representatives, prospective pilgrims and their family members to commence the maiden airlift.
Check-in formalities having been completed, the 430 pilgrims were directed to board waiting buses to be ferried to the waiting aircraft.
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Hajj Board Secretariat, Alhaji Farouk Hamza alongside the Chairman Ben Abdallah Banda and some board members who had flown in from Accra to oversee the pre-departure formalities heaved a sigh of relief when the Airbus eventually lifted off en route to the Saudi city of Madina.
The smiles on the faces of the passengers as they boarded the aircraft through the gangway was palpable, the culmination of weeks of payment arrangements among other pre-departure formalities including a series of countrywide orientation programmes.
Supporting the Executive Secretary were the Deputy Majority Chief Whip, Habib Iddrisu, who is also the MP for the Tolon Constituency, Chairman of the Hajj Board, Ben Abdallah Banda, Hajia Azara Haroun, Hajia Safiya and Alhaji Abu.
The Executive Secretary told the departing pilgrims before they enplaned that “we are here to wish you farewell. We shall soon join you.”
The second batch of 429 pilgrims was also being prepared yesterday afternoon at the time of compiling this report.
Today being Monday, a third flight is due to take off bringing to the total number of persons airlifted to some 1,287.
Upon the completion of the Tamale phase of the airlift, Accra becomes the next operations centre where more flights are scheduled to take place.
The Executive Secretary, who has shuttled between the Northern sector and Accra since activities for Hajj 2023 commenced, expressed satisfaction about the performance of the stakeholders and demanded total cooperation from prospective pilgrims as they go through the pre-departure formalities.
Ingredients for the preparation of Ghanaian dishes for the pilgrims have also been secured and sent to Saudi Arabia.
Ghanaian pilgrims are assured of two meals daily throughout their month-long period in Saudi Arabia.
The twice daily meals is peculiar to Ghanaian pilgrims.
In another development, illegal immigrants and holders of lesser Hajj and visitors visas and who are not allowed to perform the pilgrimage have been once more warned by the Ghana Hajj Board to steer off the hotels secured for bona fide Ghanaian pilgrims.
By the status of their visas, non-Hajj visa holders are barred from performing the pilgrimage.
Last week, some of such visa abusers most of them ladies posted their images on Facebook. Such persons are obviously waiting for the arrival of their compatriots so they will infiltrate their ranks, a palpable violation of Saudi laws. For the Ghana Hajj Board, it constitutes a major challenge for the management of resources and facilities. Hotel accommodation, transportation and feeding are arranged according to the number of pilgrims originating from Ghana through the Ghana Hajj Board.
Some of the measures adopted this year to address this challenge include the issuance of security backed tag for individual pilgrims and the compilation of a fingerprint database for Ghanaians on the pilgrimage.
Ghana’s envoy to Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Habib Tijani, the Counsel General Kamal Deen and members of the advance team of Ghana Hajj Board officials were at the airport to welcome pilgrims onboard the maiden flight at the Madina Airport, Saudi Arabia.
The Southern sector of the airlift is expected to commence from the Kotoka International Airport in the coming days and would entail prospective pilgrims from Kumasi, Accra and surrounding areas.
By A.R. Gomda