Deputy Communications Director of the Ghana Hajj Board, Muhammed Amin Lamtey has confirmed that the first batch of Ghanaian pilgrims are set to arrive Monday afternoon after days of unexpected delays.
According to Amin Amain Lamptey, the flight left Saudi Arabia at 6:00am and will land in Accra at 12:00.
The Ghana Hajj Board had made arrangements with Dutch Airlines to airlift pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to Accra last week.
The flight that was supposed to bring the first batch of Ghanaian pilgrims last Thursday, 8 August was cancelled and rescheduled to Saturday, 10 August.
But this plan also suffered another glitch and forced organisers to book the flight for Monday. The Board says it is "super-excited" that that the third plan for Monday is going according to schedule.
Pilgrims run into financial difficulties after about a four-day delay in the return of Ghana's pilgrims. The delay in the flight affected the budget of pilgrims who had to spend more on food and accommodation.Some were reportedly cashtrapped in Mecca.
The Deputy Communications Director acknowledged these challenges and explained that two events disrupted plans of many pilgrims. It also brought the Saudi government came under enormous pressure, he said.
A deadly stampede left more than 700 pilgrims dead while in another accident, at least 107 people died and more than 230 people were injured when a crane collapsed near the Islamic holy city of Mecca.
But the Deputy Communications Director also advised that pilgrims must rein in their spending habits during Hajj. He emphasized the need for the pilgrims to be sensitized on how to spend their money when they go for Hajj.
“People would even start shopping right from Medina before they come to start the process"
"They spend their monies in buying items and what have you so at the end of the day, the normal situation we get is not about the delay of flight but the way people spend their money,” he said.
Muhammed Amin Lamptey however said that the Hajj Board is still managing the situation.
This year’s Hajj pilgrimage suffered the deadliest incident in 25 years after the deadly stampede. Another 863 people were injured in the incident which occurred as two million pilgrims were taking part in the Hajj's last major rite.
The pilgrims were travelling to Mina, a large valley about 5km (3 miles) from Mecca to throw seven stones at pillars called Jamarat, which represents the devil.
