Flight schedule for Haj pilgrims in AP announced

Hyderabad, Aug 30: Andhra Pradesh Energy, Coal and Minority Welfare Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir announced here that the flights for Haj pilgrims from the state would commence from October 30 and conclude on Nov 16,2008.

There will be 23 special flights with one flight everyday, which will take off at 0530 hrs from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad. There will be two flights on five days on November 2, 6, 10,14 and 16 which would take off at 0730 hrs. The minister announced each flight will carry about 300 pilgrims, a release from the state Haj Committee said.

In the return journey, the flights will take off from Jeddah from December 15, 2008 and conclude on December 31, 2008 with one flight daily and two flights on December 17, 21, 25, 26, 29 and 30. The individual flight schedule for the pilgrims will be intimated in due course by the Central Haj Committee, he said.

The minister further informed, that the Haj Committee has created one more special category for the pilgrims of White and Azeezia class. The amount payable for this special category, is Saudi Riyals 2800 per unit, equivalent to Rs 71,263 towards foreign exchange. The air fare of Rs 12,000 is common for all categories.

UNI