| Uganda Airlines has announced it will make an inaugural flight for the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city in Saudi Arabia. In a press statement released Thursday, the airline’s management revealed that the pilgrimage flight which is slated on 19 June 2023 will be a milestone for the national carrier and a momentous occasion for pilgrims embarking on the holy journey for the first time in 40 years. At least 500 Muslims from across Uganda are expected to be transported by Uganda Airlines aboard the Airbus A330, with the first flight from Entebbe to Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea, a gateway for pilgrimages to Mecca and Medina. Hajj, is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, alongside Shahadah (Oath to Allah) the greater Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, takes place in the last month of the year, and all adult Muslims are expected to make it at least once during their lifetime if they can afford to do so. “The official flag-off ceremony will be held at Entebbe Airport officiated by the Minister of Works and Transport, Muslim leaders, foreign diplomats, and other government officials. The return flight will be operated from Medina to Entebbe in 2023,” the press statement read in part. The current carrier began flying in August 2019 plying to Nairobi, Mombasa, Kilimanjaro, Dar-es-Salaam, Zanzibar, Mogadishu, Bujumbura, and Juba among others. |
Courtesy photo of one of the Uganda Airlines Bombardier Aircrafts
