Haj 2023: First flight from Kerala to take off on June 4; Special flights to operate from Kozhikode, Kannur
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published May 23, 2023, 2:46 PM ISTThe first flight of Kerala for the haj pilgrimage from Kannur hajj camp will take off at 1.45 am on June 4 this year. For Haj pilgrims travelling from Kozhikode, Kannur, Jaipur, and Chennai, Air India and Air India Express would be operating special air services at the same time.
Kannur: The first flight of Kerala for the haj pilgrimage from Kannur hajj camp will take off at 1.45 am on June 4 this year. The cargo camp will be used to perform the hajj camp at Kannur International Airport.
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For Haj pilgrims travelling from Kozhikode, Kannur, Jaipur, and Chennai, Air India and Air India Express would be operating special air services at the same time.
As many as 46 flights will depart from Jaipur and Chennai towards Madinah and Jeddah during the initial phase. The second phase, however, will include 43 flights from July 3 to August 2.
From June 4 to June 22, 44 flights carrying 6,363 people will travel from Kozhikode to Jeddah. 13 flights totaling 1,873 passengers will fly between Jeddah and Kannur.
Over 4,000 women, the largest group to date, are getting ready to travel for Haj without mehram (male companion), with the first flight scheduled to depart on May 21. Many of these women—more than 2,800—are from Kerala. Since policy changes in 2018 made it possible for Muslim women over 45 to go in groups of four or more for Haj without mehram, the state's women have taken the initiative each year since.
The most number of women to date, 4,313, will perform Haj under the "without mehram" category. They are from 25 states and Union Territories altogether.
The top state on the list is Kerala (2,807), which is followed by the following states: Uttar Pradesh (222), Tamil Nadu (195), Maharashtra (162), Karnataka (140), Jammu & Kashmir (132), Madhya Pradesh (128), West Bengal (82), Telangana (76), and Gujarat (70). There are four women from Haryana and three from Goa.
The world's first Haj flight, which carried 288 pilgrims, departed from Lucknow's Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport on Sunday at 12 p.m. Between May 21 and June 6, around 14,114 pilgrims will travel from Lucknow to Medina, according to the Uttar Pradesh administration.
This year, 1,40,020 pilgrims are expected to come for Haj through the Haj Committee and 35,005 through private organisations, for a total of 1,75,025 pilgrims.
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