Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has announced that 500 Maldivian pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage via the national flag carrier, Maldivian. The Minister made the remark while speaking at a signing ceremony between the Maldives Hajj Corporation Limited and Maldivian’s parent company, Island Aviation Service (IAS) on travel arrangements for Maldivian pilgrims.
The agreement was signed ln behalf of the Hajj Corporation by its Managing Director Mohamed Shakeel, while IAS’s Managing Director Ibrahim Iyaz represented the company.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Islamic Minister described the occasion as a historic milestone, as Maldivian pilgrims will now travel to Saudi Arabia using the national airline. The minister attributed the development to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
“Other countries prioritise carrying their pilgrims to Saudi Arabia via their national carriers. We did not have the same opportunity in the Maldives for all these years, which is why our pilgrims were transported to Saudi Arabia via chartered flights from foreign airlines. Our aim for the future is to transport 100 percent of our pilgrims via the national airline. However, this year, we are able to accommodate only 50 percent,” the Minister said.
The Maldives Hajj Corporation’s Managing Director Shakeel said of the 1,000 pilgrims traveling for the Hajj pilgrimage this year, 500 will travel via Maldivian. He highlighted that this marks the beginning of efforts to reduce the cost of Hajj pilgrimage, in line with President Muizzu’s directive.
“Even by carrying 50 percent of the Hajj quota, which is 500 pilgrims, via Maldivian, the transportation expenses for the Hajj services will be reduced by MVR 3.6 million. Therefore, our hope is to accommodate all pilgrims via Maldivian’s flights in the future,” Shakeel said.
IAS’s Managing Director Iyaz said the opportunity to accommodate Maldivian pilgrims via the national carrier was a significant achievement for the company. He assured that IAS would ensure smooth and efficient arrangements under the agreement.
“It is a great pleasure and honour for us to carry Maldivian pilgrims via the national carrier. This has been facilitated by the President’s initiative to introduce wide-body aircraft this January and commence long-haul flights,” he said.
Maldivian added a wide-body aircraft to its fleet on 6 January this year. The aircraft, which has a seating capacity of 264 passengers, currently flies to three destinations in China.