Air India New Delhi: Air India, India’s leading airline and a Star Alliance member, and Air India Express, India's first international budget airline, will be flying around 19,000 Haj pilgrims from four destinations in India to Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
"Yesterday, the first Air India flight of this year’s Haj operations, AI5451, had taken off from Jaipur International Airport at 1105 hrs and reached Medina at 1350 hrs (All local time)," Air India said in a statement.
During the first phase of the operations, Air India will be operating 46 flights from Jaipur and Chennai to Medina and Jeddah, respectively, from 21st May to 21st June 2023.
During the second phase, Air India will be bringing back the pilgrims from Jeddah and Medina to Jaipur and Chennai operating 43 flights from 3rd July to 2nd August 2023.
The number of pilgrims scheduled to fly with Air India from Jaipur is 5871 on 27 flights while 4447 pilgrims will be flown by it from Chennai on 19 flights.
Overall, a total of 10318 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 4th to 22nd June 2023. It will operate 44 flights from Kozhikode to Jeddah - carrying 6363 passengers and 13 flights between Kannur and Jeddah carrying 1873 passengers during the first phase.
A total of 8236 passengers will be flown by Air India Express operating 57 flights during the first phase. In the second phase, from 13th July to 2nd August 2023, Air India Express will fly back the pilgrims from Medina to Kozhikode and Kannur.
Commenting on the joint operations, Campbell Wilson, CEO and MD, Air India said, “Air India is happy to resume the annual special flights for the sacred Haj pilgrimage from the cities of Chennai and Jaipur while Air India Express will operate from Kozhikode and Kannur. Our collective effort with Air India Express is to provide unparalleled comfort and convenience to the passengers on this pilgrimage. We look forward to serving the pilgrims through our dedicated flights. We have taken special efforts to boost our on-ground teams at the relevant airports to ensure special care for all our valued guests on these flights.”
Aloke Singh, MD, Air India Express and AirAsia India, added, “We are happy to operate Hajj special flights from Kozhikode and Kannur, for the benefit of pilgrims from Kerala, in addition to our scheduled flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Mumbai, Mangaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kozhikode and Kannur. With this special initiative, Air India Express and Air India are going the extra mile to ensure a seamless travel experience, enabling our passengers to embark on their spiritual quest with peace of mind and undivided focus."
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