Air India and Air India Express will be flying around 19,000 Haj pilgrims from four destinations in India to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday, the first Air India flight of this year’s Haj operations, AI5451, took off from Jaipur International Airport and landed at Medina, a press statement said.
During the first phase of the operations, Air India will be operating 46 flights from Jaipur and Chennai to Medina and Jeddah, respectively, from May 21 to June 21.
During the second phase, Air India will be bringing back the pilgrims from Jeddah and Medina to Jaipur and Chennai operating 43 flights from July 3 to August 2, 2023.
The number of pilgrims scheduled to fly with Air India from Jaipur is 5,871 on 27 flights while 4,447 pilgrims will be flown by it from Chennai on 19 flights.
Overall, a total of 10,318 passengers will be flown by Air India to Saudi Arabia with its Boeing 787 and Airbus 321neo aircraft.
On the other hand, Air India Express will be deploying its B737-800 aircraft to operate flights from Kozhikode and Kannur from June 4 to 22. It will operate 44 flights from Kozhikode to Jeddah - carrying 6,363 passengers and 13 flights between Kannur and Jeddah carrying 1,873 passengers during the first phase. A total of 8,236 passengers will be flown by Air India Express operating 57 flights during the first phase. In the second phase, from July 13 to August 2, 2023, Air India Express will fly back the pilgrims from Medina to Kozhikode and Kannur.
Air India and Air India Express have made special initiatives to ensure that the elderly pilgrims receive special care and attention.