Emirates to operate extra flights for upcoming Hajj season

With the significant demand for air travel during Hajj, Emirates is deploying extra flights to ensure more connectivity for the scores of pilgrims making their way to Makkah. Emirates will be operating special flights to Jeddah and Medina during the upcoming Hajj season to carry pilgrims for this special period.

Emirates will be deploying 31 additional flights to Jeddah and double daily flights to Medina from 23 June to 20 July to help transport pilgrims to carry out one of the key pillars of Islam. These services will run in parallel with Emirates’ regularly scheduled services.

Saudi Arabia has expanded its Hajj participation this year to nearly a million pilgrims. This year, Emirates has seen strong demand for Hajj travel from Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malaysia, the UK, US, UAE and Algeria.

The special services are available to travellers holding a valid Hajj visa. Pilgrims must also be under the age of 65, hold a valid vaccination certificate with a vaccine authorised by the Saudi Ministry of Health, and must also carry a negative PCR test done within 72 hours of departure.

Given the significance of the once-in-a-lifetime Hajj experience, the airline says its teams have been working hard to ensure that every detail of the pilgrim’s experience is aligned with the tenets of their faith.

On the ground in Dubai, Emirates has a special Hajj airport team to help manage check-in, transfers, and helping to facilitate a seamless and convenient on ground experience for Hajj pilgrims.

Emirates has also set up dedicated check-in and transfer counters for Hajj passengers transiting in Dubai. For Hajj travellers having a longer layover in Dubai before continuing on to Jeddah or Medina, dedicated teams are on hand to escort those groups and support them on all of their arrival formalities.

From the moment pilgrims step onto the aircraft, a range of initiatives have been planned in keeping with the values and traditions of the Hajj journey.

Extra provisions to accommodate Hajj traveller needs such as ablution cleansing rituals, unperfumed towels, advising passengers while en route to Jeddah about when they have entered Al Miqat zones (state of sanctity) and changing of Ihram robes through special PAs, and other arrangements have been planned to ease their journey and ready them for the rest of their pilgrimage.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.