The Ghanaian Minaret

Accra: Ghana has successfully completed the airlifting of Hajj pilgrims with the departure of the last flight on Wednesday, May 28, 2025.

The flight carrying about 425 pilgrims left the Kotoka International Airport at about 3pm Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and landed safely in Madinah at about 9.45pm GMT on Wednesday.

Since May 10, 2025, the Ghana Hajj Taskforce has deployed 14 flights to transport 5,816 pilgrims to perform the Hajj rites in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Pilgrims Affairs Office has indicated.

The final flight had to be rescheduled from May 23 to May 28 to allow for ample time to mop up and ensure due diligence in addressing discrepancies that have caused delays in the documentation process for would-be Hajj pilgrims.

Despite the delay of the last flight, some pilgrims were unable to embark on the pilgrimage even though timely payments were made .

This was largely attributed to the inability of pilgrims to secure the needed documentation to travel.

The Head of Corporate Affairs of the Hajj Taskforce, Alhaji ABA Fuseini, confirmed the situation at a press briefing organised on May 22, 2025.

He rendered an unqualified apology to the affected pilgrims and expressed the readiness of the task force to refund payments made.

“Ghana does not control the issuance of visas. The issuance of visas is the duty and prerogative under the authority of the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Muslims from Ghana will be joining over a million Muslims from the rest of the world to perform the annual hajj rites, which are set to commence officially on June 4, 2025.

The rites mainly include going round the Ka’bah, stoning the devil, moving between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, spending the night at Mina, and spending the day on the Mount of Arafah.