National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), has started the search for suitable airlines that would participate in the airlift of Nigerian intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2018 pilgrimage.
The search involved the opening of application forms and screening of air carriers, including cargo airlines with all the stakeholders, including the relevant House of Representatives Committees, the Nigeria Airport Authority, security agencies and others in the search.
At the screening which began today, Wednesday, in Abuja, of the airlines that have applied for the position, the NAHCON Commissioner of Operation who doubles as chairman of the Screening Committee, Alhaji Abdullahi Modibbo Saleh said that the screening is being done with a lot of transparency.
He said that all the relevant stakeholders from across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are participating in the screening to ensure that the best ones are chosen based on merit and experience.
The Acting chairman of NAHCON, Alhaji Yusuf Ibrahim Adebayo made it clear that all the airlines that applied would be given opportunity to state why they think they would do better in the airlift of Nigerian intending pilgrims to and from the Holy land in 2018.
“They would be given a level playing ground in the attempt to capture the best for our pilgrims,” Adebayo assured.
The airlines which faced screening today, and which continues tomorrow are Med View Air, Max Air, Azma Air, Top Brass, Sky Prime and Saudi Air, while those on cargo side are Cargo Zeal Technology, Med View International Travel and Cargo as well as Dynasty Airline Management Limited.
It would be recalled that Med View Air, Max Air and Azma Air have taken part in the airlift of the pilgrims in the last six years, while the others had participated in the recent years. [myad]
