Growing anxiety continues to unsettle intending pilgrims from Kano State following a prolonged delay in their airlift to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the 2026 Hajj exercise. No fewer than 1,809 intending pilgrims, representing more than 50 percent of Kano's total contingent, are currently stranded in Nigeria awaiting rescheduled flights, barely three days before Saudi Arabia's airspace closure deadline.
Flight Schedule and Delays
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) contracted Max Air to commence the airlift of 3,620 Kano pilgrims on Friday, May 15, with seven flights scheduled to be completed in four days. According to the revised schedule, the first flight from Kano was set for Friday, May 15, carrying 560 passengers. The second and third flights were scheduled for Saturday, May 16, with a similar number of passengers, while a single flight was fixed to depart Kano on Monday, May 18. The carrier plans to conclude the Kano operation on Tuesday, May 19, with three flights conveying the remaining intending pilgrims to the Holy Land.
Although there were slight reschedulings from the original plan affecting the first, second, and third flights, at least 1,811 passengers have been successfully conveyed to Saudi Arabia. However, 24 hours after the departure of the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh flights, passengers are yet to know their fate with less than 72 hours to the termination of pilgrims' arrival in Mecca, a situation that has already provoked palpable fear among the intending pilgrims.
Pilgrims' Concerns
A cross-section of the affected registered pilgrims lamented the level of uncertainty regarding the flight schedule and the communication gap between the state pilgrims' board and the airline. In separate conversations with The Guardian, the intending pilgrims expressed worry that despite earlier remittance of over 8 million naira through the state board, inconsistent flight arrangements are casting doubt on the entire exercise. They appealed to NAHCON and the pilgrims' board to consider urgent alternative arrangements before the closure of airspace to avoid any attempt that could jeopardize their intention to perform the fifth pillar of Islam.
Mohammad Isyaku, who is sponsoring his mother on pilgrimage, lamented the delay in the airlift of passengers to Saudi Arabia. According to him, "We don't know what is causing the delay, and worse still, nobody is telling us why or the cause of the delay, and whether we are traveling or not. My mother is worried and keeps asking me when they are going. I don't even know what to tell her anymore."
Another concerned intending pilgrim, Ahmad Abubakar, worried that the shutdown in communication has left pilgrims hopeless. Abubakar regretted that "the delay is needless if proper flight arrangements were made for Kano."
Official Response
Efforts to reach the Director General of the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Abubakar Ibrahim Matawalle, on the development were not successful, as he was said to be busy with operations. A credible source at the board, who spoke on condition of anonymity, exonerated the state board from any fault in the flight delay. He asserted that NAHCON should be held responsible for flight operation hiccups or success. "You should know that the state board does not appoint airlines; it is NAHCON that has the sole responsibility of screening and selecting carriers. The same applies to flight schedules, and so they should be held responsible," the source said.
As of the time of filing this report, NAHCON has yet to react to the flight rescheduling and subsequent delay of 1,809 pilgrims in Kano.
