Stakeholders in the hajj industry have commended a Saudi Arabian-designated airline, Flynas, for sustaining an effective service delivery in the last nine years of its operations in the country.
They said the airline has reshaped the hajj industry by providing flawless services to the hajj pilgrims in Nigeria.
Flynas, a Saudi Kingdom-designated airline, has been in Nigeria since 2014 as part of the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia to airlift between 40-50 per cent of Nigerian pilgrims for hajj.
For the 2023 hajj, Flynas has been allocated pilgrims from Lagos, Osun, Ogun, Niger, Borno, Yobe, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states.
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A pilgrim from Osun State, who identified himself as Alhaji Kamaru, told this newspaper that since “Flynas started operations in Nigeria in 2014, it carved a niche for itself in the timely airlift of all its allocated pilgrims to Saudi Arabia and back.
Another pilgrim from Borno State, Hajiya Fanna Modu, said the “seamless nature of Flynas operations is not only unprecedented but commendable. They have redefined the art of pilgrims airlift in Nigeria.”
A pilgrim official who spoke in confidence said “Flynas’ entry into the Nigerian hajj airlift ecosystem has burnished the bartered image of Nigeria in Saudi Arabia and beyond.”
He said since their debut in 2014, “the embarrassing protests by stranded Nigerian pilgrims in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have ended. This was done by Flynas by airlifting its pilgrims on schedule and even providing rescue to other airlines who failed to airlift their pilgrims.”
In his remarks, Flynas Managing Director of the General Services Area (GSA) handling Flynas in Nigeria, Alhaji Umar Kaila, said the airline though here on BASA, is contributing tremendously in the development of the industry.
He said the airline employs over 60 Nigerians as ad hoc staff yearly during hajj operations in the last nine years.
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