CAIRO: Egypt Air announced the return of 44 percent of Egyptian pilgrims who traveled to Saudi Arabia by air as of Friday Oct. 2, Youm7 reported.
“So far, the company has transported 31,000 pilgrims on board of 132 flights from Jeddah and Madina airports to the seasonal flights building at Cairo Airport in addition to 11,500 pilgrims transported to Cairo by the Saudi airlines,” Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal was quoted by Youm7.
“Huge models of Egypt Air’s aircrafts are being used as part of an air bridge dedicated to returning Egyptian pilgrims to Cairo,” he added.
Kamal appealed to pilgrims to abide by the guidelines during the flights and to limit their baggage to the allowable weight stated by Egypt Air.
An estimated 70,000 Egyptians have performed hajj this year. The number decreased as requested by the Saudi government, citing development projects carried out in Mecca.
The number of Egyptians who died in a stampede while performing the Hajj rituals rose to 124, the Health Ministry announced Thursday night.
Pilgrimage to Mecca is one of Islam’s five pillars, and is obligatory for Muslims who can afford the trip financially and physically.