Srinagar June 01: The first flight of pilgrims for the Hajj-2023 from Jammu and Kashmir would leave for Jeddah International Airport from June 7, an official said on Wednesday.
The official said that two flights would leave every day for Jeddah International Airport from Srinagar International Airport from June 7 and each would carry 315 pilgrims in separate schedules.
The official said that the first flight would depart from Srinagar Airport at 3 pm while the second flight would depart at 7 pm on the same day.
“The pilgrims who have been allotted their seats in first flight (3 pm) will have to report to Srinagar Hajj House at 10 am while those going in second flight will have to report to Hajj House at 2 pm,” Executive Officer J&K Hajj Committee Abdul Salam Mir.
He said that the first flight of Hajj-2023 pilgrims would take off on June 7 while the last flight would depart on June 22.
“For the initial days two flights will take off every day and in the last days of the schedule we may have three flights every day,” Mir said.
The return of the pilgrims would commence from July 17.
This year over 12,000 pilgrims are going for Hajj-2023 from Jammu and Kashmir. Unlike last year, no amount would be provided to the pilgrims at Hajj House.
Last year each pilgrim was given Rs 40000 (1828.24 Saudi Riyal) while leaving from Hajj House Srinagar.
“This year they won’t be given any money. Even SIM cards will not be provided this year as last year we experienced that pilgrims face inconveniences to get these numbers activated there. So we have stopped it this year,” Mir said.
Earlier, the J&K Hajj Committee had claimed to reduce the cost of Hajj-2023 by Rs 80,000, which was seen as a ray of hope for many pilgrims, but according to officials, this year’s Hajj had become costlier than last year.
“This year the Hajj pilgrimage was costlier by Rs 12,000 compared to last year,” Mir said.
He urged the pilgrims not to pay heed to rumours spread by some mischievous people to create confusion among the pilgrims about the flight schedule.
“Recently, some miscreants circulated last year’s flight schedule and created confusion among the masses. We issued the schedule of the first two flights today and will notify the schedule of other flights as well. We publish it in print media as well,” Mir said.
