* From left, Commisioner, South West, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, (NAHCON) Imam Fuad A. Adeyeni,Managing Director/Chief Excecutive Officer, Med-View Airline Plc, Alhaji Muneer Bamkole, Commissioner for Home Affairs, Lagos State, Dr. Abdulhakeem Abdullateef and Chief Operation cer, Med-View Airline Plc, Engr. Lookman Animashaun during the first batch of Hajj Pilgrims Operations from Lagos State being airlifted by Med-View Airline at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport(MMA) Lagos today.
Med-view Airlines today airlifted a total of 460 pilgrims from Lagos zone
The airlift took place at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport(MMA),Lagos.
The aircraft a Boeing 747-400 series with 460 pilgrims departed the airport at 12:52 pm in the presence of the Managing Director of Med-View Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole and other officials of the airline.
Speaking shortly after the aircraft departed Lagos for Saudi Arabia, Bankole said that the 460 pilgrims that left for King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah were among the over 2000 from the Lagos Zone that would be performing the pilgrimage exercise.
He stated that the airline had dedicated three aircraft to airlift pilgrims to the holy land on schedule, assuring that in the next 10 days, the airlift of the Lagos zone which consists of pilgrims from the South West will be completed.
The exercise, Bankole has been going on smoothly since the commencement of the airlift
“As you are aware the operation has started for the last seven days and things are going as planned and we are giving thanks to Almighty God. We are here in Lagos zone which comprises southwest and we believe in the next one week, we should be running it down. In 10 days, it should be over.You cannot compare our services with others. We are in touch, I am the only CEO you will find on the field and that shows the seriousness of the business,”he said
On the bird strike that affected its aircraft in Ilorin, he said, “We are happy because the Captain took what we call precautionary measures. The birds are all over in Ilorin. Our only advice to the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, the Control Tower and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN is for them to do what is needful and send those birds out of airport environment and I believed that was done. When it happened and the captain took that measure, I think it is a wonderful decision by the Captain. We are sending another aircraft to take the passenger out of the place by the grace of God tonight.”
