The seasonal flights building at Cairo International Airport celebrated the departure of the first groups of Egyptian pilgrims heading to the holy lands to perform the Hajj rituals for the 1440 AH/2019 season. The celebration was attended by Minister of Civil Aviation Lt. Gen. Younis Al-Masry; Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aty, head of Egypt's official Hajj mission this year; and Minister of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) Dr. Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa.
The Minister of Civil Aviation said Egyptian airports are prepared to receive more than 105,000 pilgrims this year, to be transported on Egyptian and Saudi airlines, stressing that maximum effort will be made to serve pilgrims travelling on EgyptAir and other airlines, and that work is under way to implement the plan set for the smooth flow of the air bridge and to ensure the comfort of pilgrims on outbound and return flights, especially the elderly and people with special needs, without any obstacles, helping them perform their rites with ease. He pointed to full coordination with the Saudi authorities and all relevant ministries and bodies to serve the pilgrims.
For his part, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aty, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation and head of the official Hajj mission, stressed that great efforts are being made by all the bodies and ministries concerned with Hajj to deliver an honourable image worthy of Egypt, adding that all members of the mission are at the service of pilgrims to overcome and solve any problems they face, and wishing the pilgrims a blessed journey and a safe return home.
Minister of Awqaf Dr. Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa also thanked the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the facilities it provides to pilgrims. Gomaa added that for the first time, 60 Al-Azhar scholars, as well as 9 female preachers, are being sent to accompany the Hajj missions to make things easier for pilgrims, provide them with religious guidance and answer their questions to avoid incorrect fatwas.
EgyptAir is scheduled to operate 8 flights to Medina today to transport about 2,000 pilgrims from the Giza lottery pilgrims and transit pilgrims from some countries. The first Jeddah flights from Cairo International Airport will begin on Monday, July 22, with 8 flights to transport Dakahlia lottery pilgrims, and the outbound phase will end with the departure of the last flights on Monday, August 5. As for the return phase to Cairo Airport, the first flight will be on Wednesday, August 14, and the phase will end on Thursday, September 5.
EgyptAir plans to transport more than 74,000 pilgrims to the holy lands this year, including 24,000 lottery pilgrims, 12,000 Social Solidarity pilgrims, 7,000 transit pilgrims, 10,500 tourism, agency and individual pilgrims, and 11,000 work and visit pilgrims, in addition to 9,500 pilgrims from Mali and Palestine, with 12 flights to transport 3,400 Palestinian pilgrims and 21 flights to transport 6,100 pilgrims from Mali.
The company will operate 351 flights from Cairo International Airport, including 206 flights to Jeddah and 145 flights to Medina. Among these flights, the company will operate 20 flights from Borg El Arab Airport to Jeddah to transport 4,600 pilgrims, 8 flights from Luxor to transport 1,800 pilgrims, 2 flights from Aswan to transport 500 pilgrims, and finally one flight from Hurghada to transport 240 pilgrims.
