All Maldivian pilgrims have returned to the Maldives after performing this year’s Hajj pilgrimage. This time, 1000 pilgrims from the Maldives performed Hajj under the quota given by Saudi Arabia. This year, pilgrims went to Saudi Arabia for Hajj in 4 groups. The last group of pilgrims arrived in the Maldives on Tuesday at 22:54. These pilgrims arrived in the Maldives on a flight of the national airline Maldivian. While 255 pilgrims arrived in the Maldives on this flight, the plane departed from Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina.
In previous years, Maldivian pilgrims would visit Medina, then return to Mecca, and then travel from Mecca to Jeddah. This involves a 6-hour journey between Mecca and Medina. And a 2-hour journey is required between Mecca and Jeddah. However, this year Maldivian pilgrims are coming directly from Medina. With the arrival of all pilgrims in the Maldives, the Managing Director of Hajj Corporation, Mohamed Shakeel, told PSM News at Velana Airport that all pilgrims have expressed satisfaction with the Hajj arrangements this time.
“Overall, we saw a big smile from the pilgrims. We saw the pilgrims accepting the service provided this time. The President continuously checked on the pilgrims and closely monitored the arrangements. Therefore, we are very grateful to the President. And I would also like to thank the Hajj Corporation team for their hard work,” said Mohamed Shakeel, Managing Director of Hajj Corporation.
While the first group of pilgrims arrived on Friday, the second group arrived on Saturday night. The third group of pilgrims arrived in the Maldives around noon on Monday. The second and last groups arrived on the national airline Maldivian. While 1000 people performed Hajj this year, this includes 50 people who were taken for Hajj with government assistance, who could not afford to go for Hajj on their own. All these quotas were given to Hajj Corporation.
The government has made convenient arrangements for those who went for Hajj this year. As such, many people note that under the Makkah Route Initiative, the arrangements at Jeddah Airport, transportation, and food arrangements are more complete this year than before. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has appealed to pilgrims to cover their mouth and nose with a handkerchief or tissue when coughing and sneezing due to influenza when arriving in the Maldives. They have also appealed not to go to crowded places if coughing and sneezing.
