, November 7, Asia-Plus /Victoria Naumova, Mavjouda Hasanova/ — The first group of Tajik Hajjis, numbering 360 people, are flying to
Jeddah
,
Saudi Arabia
today at 4:00 pm, Ms. Nazira Davlatova, a spokesman for Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
We will recall that Tajik Air is carrying Tajik Hajjis to
Saudi Arabia
this year.
Tajik Air will use Lockheed-1011 to operate fights to Jeddah, the spokeswoman said.
According to WikipediA, the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as just L-1011 or TriStar, is a medium-to-long range, three-engine, widebody passenger jet airliner.
It was the third widebody airliner to enter commercial operations, following the Boeing 747 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10.
Between 1968 and 1984, Lockheed manufactured a total of 250 TriStars.
After production ended, Lockheed withdrew from the commercial aircraft business due to its below-target sales.
“In all, some 15 flights will be operated from Dushanbe and Khujand to carry 5,000 Tajik Muslim pilgrims to Jeddah until November
20,”
Ms. Davlatova said.
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to
Mecca
.
It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.
It is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
It is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah.
The pilgrimage occurs from the 10th to the 15th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar.
Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world, the Gregorian date of the Hajj is eleven days earlier from year to year.
