The seventh airlift of Ghanaian pilgrims from Accra took off after 2am, a Pilgrims Affairs Office, Ghana (PAOG) official has told DAILY GUIDE.
Four flights took off from the Tamale Airport spanning August 19 and 22 via a chartered aircraft which having completed the Northern Regional capital operation turned its attention to Accra.
Each flight contains five hundred pilgrims who are flown directly to Madina in Saudi Arabia. In previous arrangements pilgrims upon their arrival in Jeddah had to be moved via hired buses to Mecca.
The direct flight to Madina, one of the stops in the rituals of the pilgrimage, reduces the inconveniences experienced by pilgrims.
The Accra end of the flights commenced on August 23 and expected to end on 30 August 2016.
Ghana’s quota for this year’s pilgrimage stands at 5,424 to be airlifted in 11 flights.
The Hajj management has not reported of any untoward action so far, such as the importation of restricted items like kola, pomades and others according to an official of the Communications Directorate of the PAOG.                                                                                                                                                                              Alhaji Abubakar Bawa Ibn Tanko, the Chief of Staff at the PAOG who is also the head of the advance team responsible for pilgrims’ welfare and guidance has been full of praise for Ghanaian pilgrims. He added that these pilgrims have so far not flouted any of the directives issued by the Saudi authorities.
Continuing, he said, of the management of arrival formalities which could be nasty in some instances, “the process was smooth, faster and enjoyable devoid of delays as a result of the zero prohibited and restricted products”.
This positive information, according to an official of the Communications Directorate, shows that those who have landed in the Holy Land so far have scored 100% mark for positive compliance on prohibited and restricted product per the Saudi Arabia government Hajj pilgrimage regulations.
By A.R. Gomda