By Uzair Adam
A Saudi-designated Nigerian Hajj air carrier, Flynas, has formalized an agreement with the Nigerian government for the airlift of pilgrims for the 2025 Hajj operations.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced that the transportation of Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia will commence on May 5, 2025.
The agreement was signed on Monday at NAHCON’s headquarters in Abuja by the Chief Commercial Officer of Flynas, Mr. Khaled Alhejairi, and the commission’s Chairman and CEO, Professor Abdullahi Saleh Usman.
Present at the signing were Flynas’s Director for Business Development, Mr. Yasser Ajlan, Manager of Business Development, Mr. Hani Isma’il, and the Managing Director of First Planet Travels and General Sales Agent (GSA) of Flynas in Nigeria, Alhaji Umar Kaila.
Mr. Alhejairi reaffirmed the airline’s commitment to maintaining high service standards for Nigerian pilgrims, stating that Flynas has consistently fulfilled its obligations since joining the Nigerian Hajj operations in 2014.
“We want to assure NAHCON that Flynas will continue to provide comfortable and seamless travel experiences for our esteemed customers in Nigeria during the Hajj operation,” he said.
In January, NAHCON approved four airlines—Flynas, Air Peace, Max Air, and Umza Aviation Services Limited—for the 2025 Hajj operations. Among them, Flynas, the most experienced, has successfully transported Nigerian pilgrims for the past decade.
For the 2025 Hajj, Nigeria has a projected quota of 71,274 pilgrims, with NAHCON preliminarily allocating 22,894 pilgrims to Flynas, 9,145 to Air Peace, 23,342 to Max Air, and 15,893 to Umza Air.
Flynas, which operates in Nigeria under the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, has played a key role in stabilizing airlift operations for Nigerian pilgrims while expanding the capacity of its workforce.