Hurray! Government secures flight for Hajj pilgrims

Government has secured two chartered flights to fly stranded Hajj pilgrims at the Cargo Village in Accra to Mecca. The two aircraft, expected to land at the Kotoka International Airport by 10 pm Thursday night, are each expected to carry 270 passengers and will make three trips to ensure that as many pilgrims as possible make the trip to the Holy Land. Presidential Spokesperson Andrew Awuni who disclosed this to journalists at the Castle said government is conferring with the Saudi authorities for an extension of the deadline. The Jeddah Airport is expected to be closed by Friday night. About 2700 pilgrims have been stranded at the Airport Cargo Village for close to a week awaiting a flight. Two of them have reportedly died, while various promises on the part of organisers to get the pilgrims arranged flights never materialised.