by Naglaa Ghonaim
Minister of Civil Aviation Hossam Kamal and Minister of Endowment Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa attended a ceremony to bid farewell to the first batches of lottery-winning pilgrims travelling this year from the seasonal flights terminal at Cairo International Airport.
The minister called on all ministry staffers to exert their utmost efforts to serve the families and loved ones of the pilgrims and work to implement the pre-set plan to streamline the airlift and ensure the comfort of pilgrims on their travel and return trips, particularly the elderly.
The minister said that “the honour of serving and caring for pilgrims to the Holy Lands casts a great responsibility on all of us. It is a great task we are keen on and prepare for over many months, and we are in full coordination with the relevant ministries, such as endowment, interior, tourism, health and finance in order to offer the pilgrims a successful season.” He asserted that all employees of Egyptian airports and the EgyptAir Company are racing to provide the best services to pilgrims.
For his part, Dr Mokhtar Gomaa, the Minister of Endowment and the head of the official pilgrimage mission, praised the good organisation and constant coordination by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and its subsidiaries with the ministries concerned and all the regulators and bodies for the pilgrimage season to ensure the best service worthy of Egyptian pilgrims. The Ministry of Endowment has started its advisory campaign with the first batch of pilgrims to educate them around the clock at all airports and ports, and to answer any questions on the rituals.
In this regard, Sharif Fathi, the Chairman of the EgyptAir Holding Company, said that “the company will work to harness all its potential for the success of the pilgrimage season and provide all necessary facilities to offer outstanding service to the pilgrims, starting from booking tickets through the services provided at the departure halls and on board the plane until the arrival of pilgrims in the Holy Lands.”
For his part, Hisham el Nahas, the Chairman of EgyptAir Airlines Company, said that the annual habit of EgyptAir is to hold a ceremony to bid farewell to the first group of pilgrims. The company offers cash vouchers worth two pilgrimage tickets to the oldest two pilgrims travelling on board the first flight scheduled to take off today. The winners can recover the tickets’ value after their return from the pilgrimage. The ministers of aviation and endowment handed over the tickets to the two winners.
He appealed to the pilgrims to be present at airports four hours before flights take off and at the return flight to meet deadlines on travel and be present at the airport eight hours before take-off from in Jeddah and six hours before take-off from Medina.
The company also stresses that the pilgrims should keep their tickets inside their handbags during departure and return and to ensure taking necessary vaccinations as prescribed by the Ministry of Health.
EgyptAir plans to transfer approximately 76,000 pilgrims to the Holy Lands through operating 314 flights to airports in Jeddah and Medina.
