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A civil society organisation, Independent Hajj Reporters (IHR), has charged the aviation screening committee for Hajj 2023 to adhere strictly to quality assurance in selection of carriers. It charged the panel to ensure that only airlines that meet technical requirements are hired to ferrying Nigerian pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
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The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) had constituted a 36-member committee to screen both domestic and foreign airline operators, conveying the pilgrims for the spiritual exercise.
A statement by IHR National Coordinator, Ibrahim Mohammed, lauded the terms of reference and decision to incorporate Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in the coordination process.
The CSO said: “Part of the guidelines given to the committee is to determine suitability and capability of applicants in line with extant Nigerian civil aviation regulations and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards, allocate passengers to carriers based on their assessed capabilities and establish criteria, score or grade for suitability and for the recommendation of an applicant.
“It is also entrusted to recommend appropriate pilgrim airfare and excess luggage rate for the specified departure zones, and make any other recommendation necessary for the efficient conduct of 2023 Hajj airlift.”
According to IHR, airlift of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia constitutes major operations during hajj exercise and explains why the work of the committee would have great impact on the success or otherwise of this year’s pilgrimage.
It, however, cautioned the airlines bidding for the exercise to resist the temptation of biting more than they can chew by presenting verifiable facts about their capability and capacity.
IHR remanded NAHCON that as the apex hajj regulatory body, it has a responsibility of ensuring that intending pilgrims get a commensurate value of service for their money.
He said amending the airlift agreement and applying such measures would discourage carriers from using a single aircraft to ferry pilgrims from more than three different nations during the operations.
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