By IANS,
New Delhi : The Haj terminal, an exclusive terminal for Haj pilgrims at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, has come in for praise from the Delhi government Thursday.
“We are very satisfied with the entire Haj operation carried out from the Delhi airport,” said Delhi’s Social Welfare Minister Rajkumar Chauhan. Over 18,000 devotees had flown for Jeddah from Delhi airport.
The IGI Airport is the only airport in India to have an exclusive permanent facility for Haj passengers.
Chauhan was speaking at a function organised by the airport developer, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), where members of the Haj Committee, which organises Haj tour for the pilgrims, were also present.
The first flight for this Haj season started Oct 30, 2008 and the flights continued to depart till Nov 16. However, special flights continued to operate till Jan 15 bringing back the pilgrims, said DIAL in a statement.
The flights operated for the purpose were by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Air India, said DIAL. Of the 123,211 pilgrims, 63,511 pilgrims flew by Saudi Arabian Airlines while Air India carried 59,700 devotees.
Mohammed Moazzam, the chief coordinator of the Central Haj Committee, said the space enhancement at the new Haj terminal made the pilgrims’ travel convenient.
“New check-in counters, baggage belts, x-ray scanners and cooperative staff made the operations faster and very convenient,” he said.