The final flight conveying Katsina State pilgrims from the 2026 Hajj exercise landed safely yesterday at the Umaru Musa Yar’adua International Airport, Katsina, bringing to a successful conclusion the state’s return airlift from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Boeing 747 aircraft, operated by Max Air with flight number NGL 271 (HMM), departed King Abdul’Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, at 12:08 p.m. Saudi Arabian time (10:08 a.m. Nigerian time) and touched down at the Umaru Musa Yar’adua International Airport shortly after 3:00 p.m. Nigerian time.
The aircraft carried more than 500 passengers, comprising over 200 pilgrims from Katsina State and about 300 pilgrims from Kano State. After disembarking the Katsina pilgrims at the Umaru Musa Yar’adua International Airport, the aircraft continued its journey to Kano with the remaining passengers.
Among the Katsina passengers were the Amirul Hajj and Chairman of the 2026 Katsina State Hajj Delegation, Barrister Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq; members of the State Hajj Delegation, including the Commissioner for Higher Education, Alhaji Sani Ali Ahmed Daura; members of the Board and Management of the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board led by its Executive Director, Alhaji Yunusa Abdullahi Dankama; members of the Katsina State House of Assembly who participated in the pilgrimage as part of the legislature’s oversight responsibilities; and Hajiya Hauwa Umar Radda, former wife of the late President of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and elder sister of Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda.
Hajiya Hauwa Umar Radda
Before boarding the return flight at King Abdul’Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Hajiya Hauwa Umar Radda met and exchanged pleasantries with the Amirul Hajj and other members of the Katsina contingent. Also present were the Executive Director of the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board and the Media Representative in the 2026 Hajj Delegation, Malam Ahmed Abdulkadir, who is also her brother-in-law, being married to her immediate younger sister, Hajiya Indo Umar Radda.
The successful arrival of the final flight, however, was accompanied by two isolated incidents involving pilgrims.
One of them involved a Kano State pilgrim, Alhaji Ahmad Isyaku Danbagina from Dawakin Kudu Local Government Area, who mistakenly disembarked at Katsina Airport instead of remaining on the aircraft to Kano. The elderly pilgrim, who had sustained an injury during the pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, was identified after the Chairman of the House Committee on Religious Affairs, Alhaji Umar Ali Bindawa, drew the attention of members of the Katsina State Hajj Delegation to the situation.
Upon being informed, the Amirul Hajj promptly intervened by sending transport fare to the stranded pilgrim to facilitate his journey to Kano. Officials of the Katsina State Pilgrims Welfare Board subsequently escorted him to a motor park and assisted him in boarding a vehicle to his destination.
In a similar development, a female pilgrim from Katsina State inadvertently remained on board the aircraft after it departed Katsina for Kano. She was received at the Kano Airport by officials of Max Air, who assured that arrangements would be made to return her safely to Katsina.
The completion of the final return flight marked the successful conclusion of the 2026 Hajj operations for Katsina State, during which 2,035 pilgrims performed the pilgrimage and were safely returned home.
