By Arowona Abdulazeez

The first batch of 460 pilgrims from Kwara state were on Thursday airlifted to Saudi Arabia for this year’s Hajj exercise.

ROYAL NEWS reports that the pilgrims who were in high spirit boarded the MED View airline Boeing 747 aircraft which departed  Ilorin International Airport at about 12.30pm.

Speaking on the exercise , the state Amirul Hajj , Professor Jamiu Sulyman commended the state government for making adequate arrangements for the early airlift of the pilgrims from the state.

Sulyman disclosed that there will be three flights from Ilorin zone for this year’s the Hajj operations.

Also speaking with newsmen , the Managing Director of MED View Airline, Alh Muneer Bankole said that his airline would airlift pilgrims fro Kwara, Ondo and Ekiti states with three categories of aircraft .

Bankole added that the airline has put everything in place to ensure comfort of the pilgrims  and assured that those that were first airlifted would be the first to be returned back home after the hajj operations.