As pilgrims homebound airlifts begin today: Flight schedule violation attracts N13m fine...Amirul Hajj warns airlines
From MUSA A. TIJJANI, Jeddah

As the airlift of Nigerian pilgrims back home begins today, air carriers engaged for the 2006/2007 Hajj airlift have been warned to stick to flight schedules or face a fine of about N13million ($100,000).
Handing down the warning yesterday, the Amirul Hajj and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, said the carriers must, under the terms of agreements, follow the approved guidelines of the conduct of the exercise.
The Sultan, who gave the warning at the Post-Arafat Stakeholders’ Meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, stressed that tough measures as provided by the law would be invoked against any erring airline operator.
He, however, urged the airlines to be compassionate in dealing with the pilgrims assuring them that all their problems would be adequately addressed.
While commending the Presidential Committee on Hajj (PCH) for a job welldone, the Amirul Hajj enjoined the officials to be sincere and open while discharging their onerous responsibility.
He also admonished against any shoddy arrangements that would mar the smooth airlift operation, assuring that reported cases of unhygienic accomodation by some states in the Holyland would be probed.
It could be recalled that five carriers -- Kabo, Mangal, Knight, Virgin and Meridien Airlines --were engaged in the airlift operation for Nigerian pilgrims during the 2006/2007 Hajj exercise.
Two of the airlines, Mangal and Kabo, have since given their words to begin the homebound airlift of the pilgrims to various centres in the country.
To this end, Knight Airline is expected to start operation tomorrow (Friday), while Virgin and Meridien Airlines will follow suit soon.
Giving the assurance, Managing Director of Mangal Airline, Captain Bashir Sodangi, said the airline has concluded all necessary arrangements for the airlift today.
“We’ll not relent in our commitment to ensure that we live up to expectation by strictly adhering to the flight schedule”, observing that ‘’even though there may be problems associated with hazy harmattan weather, the airline would play it safe by landing at night in case morning flight is hampered by the weather condition”, Sodangi assured.
In his address, the PCH chairman, Malam Muhammadu Musa Bello, said a total of 25 deaths has so far been recorded, noting that most of these deaths resulted from cardiac arrests and similar terminal illnesses.
Bello who expressed gratitude to Almighty Allah for allowing the pilgrims and stakeholders to perform the Hajj, called on officials of state pilgrims’ welfare boards officials to document all their complaints as the PCH will be ever ready to address them.