JEDDAH, 18 February — Most of the 7,200 Haj pilgrims from the western Indian state of Gujarat, whose flights were canceled in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that hit the region on Jan. 26, have started coming on rescheduled charters.
Air-India did not operate eight scheduled charters between Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 following the earthquake. "Five of the eight canceled flights have since been operated, and slots will be given for the remaining three flights in the next few days," S.M. Mazharullah, A-I manager for the Western Province, told Arab News yesterday.
India's national airline is transporting 50,000 pilgrims from six embarkation points -- Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore and Hyderabad -- while Saudi Arabian Airlines is bringing in 20,500 other pilgrims from Bombay and Cochin in the southern Kerala state.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu flagged off the inaugural flight from Hyderabad over the weekend. The pilgrims, who included Telugu Desam Party secretary Lal Jan Pasha and a senior representative of the Andhra Pradesh State Haj Committee, were received by Consul General Syed Akbaruddin and Mazharullah at the Haj Terminal.
By midnight yesterday, 147 A-I charters had brought in 44,560 pilgrims. The remaining 49 flights will arrive by Feb. 26, Mazharullah said, adding that pilgrims have also been coming by the airline's 31 extra flights and six weekly flights. In all, 112,000 Indian pilgrims, including those coming on international passports, are expected to perform Haj this year.
