Flight fails to land; first Hajj pilgrims from Tamale to Mecca stranded
The first batch of more than 500 pilgrims could not leave the Tamale Airport Thursday night for Mecca to undertake this year’s Hajj due to flight technical challenges, according to aviation officials.
Advertisement
The pilgrims were to take off at 20:00 GMT but the flight did not show up at the airport.
Aviation officials have explained that the flight that was to airlift the first batch came but could not land due to some technical challenges and had to return.
The pilgrims were left stranded at the Tamale Sports stadium the venue for the Hajj Village.
As of 7am Friday it was unclear whether the flight arrangement to Saudi Arabia would proceed as schedule.
Efforts to reach the Hajj Board for their comments through the. telephone were unsuccessful.
Immigration officers at the airport were compelled to sleep at the airport waiting for the flight.
Efforts to get the Airport Manager, Mr Michael Omane Mensah for a comment on the issue was not successful but Graphic Online gathered from some immigration officials at the airport that a different flight from the same airline operator was expected in Tamale by 14:00 GMT Friday.
{loadmodule mod_banners,Nativead1}
Tamale batch
In all, 3,000 pilgrims are expected to be flown directly from the Tamale Airport to Mecca.
Out of the number, the government has borne the full cost of 452 pilgrims who could not travel to Mecca last year, although they had paid to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca, but whose payments could not be accounted for.
The Vice-President, Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, attended a farewell ceremony at the Tamale Sports Stadium on Thursday to wish the pilgrims a safe journey.
In attendance were the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu, and some ministers of state.
In the past, Muslim pilgrims from the three regions of the north had to travel to the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra before they could fly to Mecca, a development that inconvenienced many of them.
Speaking at the farewell ceremony, Alhaji Dr Bawumia gave an assurance that the government would continue to facilitate and complement the efforts of the Hajj Board to ensure an incident-free pilgrimage.
Advice
Advising the pilgrims not to carry along any prohibited items that could tarnish the image of Ghana, theVice President appealed to them to comport themselves while in Saudi Arabia and focus on the religious obligations of the pilgrimage.
“A website had been created to provide detailed information on the departure times and dates for the pilgrims to help ease the usual congestion at the Hajj Village,” Dr Bawumia said.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, urged the pilgrims to pray for the peace, stability and prosperity of the Middle East while in Mecca and thanked the Ghana government for helping to organise a successful Hajj this year.
Hajj Board
The Chairman of the Hajj Board, Sheikh, I. C. Quaye, said post-Hajj conferences would be held to share the successes and challenges of this year's Hajj in a bid to improve on the organisation of the annual pilgrimage.