Alhaji Muhammad Abba Dambatta, the Executive Secretary of the Kano State Pilgrims Welfare Board, has announced that the State Government has declined to allow AZMAN Air to fly its pilgrims during the 2022 Hajj exercise.
“As I’m talking to you now, our stand is still on Max Air and there’s no going back,” he revealed. I have given the 60% Hajj deposit money, we have complied with all regulations, the 19th is the sacred day that we started the airlift, and we have told Max Air to get ready since there is no turning back.
Recall, nonetheless, that three airlines and the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) inked a contract for the 2022 Hajj exercise.
Alhaji Dambatta, while speaking on the issue, stated that they were surprised at NAHCON’s attitude in selecting airlines for states which have gone against the norms and practices of Hajj Operations over the years. According to him, several meetings were held with NAHCON officials both in Mecca and Abuja, and the Commission only told them that they have forwarded compiled names of proposed airlines to the Presidency for approval. The two other Airlines engaged for the exercise, Max and Flynas have been transporting pilgrims from their assigned states since the 9th of June but Azman is yet to commence.
“We have already complaints to NAHCON over the imposition of Azman as official Hajj carrier of my state pilgrims,” a pilgrim Welfare board official from one of the authorized states who was assigned to AZMAN Air for the Hajj activity stated, speaking under anonymity.
The airline’s operational history and “their capacity to airlift such number of pilgrims assigned to them within the little time before the closure of King AbdulAziz international airport in Jeddah,” he continued, are the basis for the rejection of Azman.
“Look, I’m not disputing the technical standards that NAHCON employed to evaluate the airlines, but how can NAHCON give the two states with the highest pilgrimage rates to a newcomer to the market with dubious capabilities and expertise in Hajj airlifting?” he said.
According to him the airlift of Pilgrims is not like domestic planes because it is completely time-bound.
While replying, the General Manager of Azman Air who spoke to our correspondent through the phone, Alhaji Lawan Garba, said there is no such issue as rejection of Azman by states pilgrims boards.
He said that ”Though there are some states that are used to being airlifted by other airlines in previous Hajj operations and they might not be comfortable with us owing to some reasons. But you know that it was NAHCON that assigned states to us.”
