The first batch of Haj pilgrims who went to Makkah under government supervision returned on Monday. Saudi Arabian Airlines flight carrying 346 pilgrims landed at the Karipur airport at 9.50 a.m., nearly half-an-hour ahead of schedule. As many as 182 of the first batch were women and 164 were men.
Special arrangements were made at Karipur for speedy clearance of the Hajis. They exited the airport through the domestic terminal building after clearing emigration and customs procedures. The Haj Committee provided five litres of Zamzam water to each pilgrim.
Haj Committee chairman Kottumala T.M. Bapu Musliar and K. Mohammedunni Haji, MLA, received the pilgrims at the airport. A large number of relatives gathered at the airport to receive the pilgrims. It was an emotional reunion for some and many others looked ecstatic on rejoining their family.
Saudi Arabian Airlines will operate 20 flights to ferry 6,888 pilgrims who went to Makkah under government supervision. The second Haj flight will return to Karipur at 1.15 p.m. on Tuesday. The last flight will be on November 3, said airline officials.
Although the returning pilgrims expressed satisfaction by and large, some of them said the food served to them was of poor quality. They suggested that pilgrims from Kerala be housed in the same place avoiding mingling with the Hajis from other States.