DUSHANBE, November 7, 2008, Asia-Plus — “However, Saudi air company will carry Tajik Hajj pilgrims to Jeddah this year,” Ms. Nazira Davlatova, a spokesman for Tajik national air carrier, TajikAir, told Asia-Plus on November 7, apologizing for wrong information provided on November 5.
According to her, Ajla (phonetically spelled) Air Limited Com is the Saudi but Iranian air company as she said on November 5. “The company will use the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar to carry Tajik Muslims to Saudi Arabia” Davlatova said.
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar was the third widebody passenger jet airliner to enter operation, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. Like the DC-10, the TriStar is a three-engine jet airliner. Between 1968 and 1984, Lockheed manufactured a total of 250 TriStars. The design featured a twin-aisle interior with a maximum of 400 passengers.
We will recall that 5,200 Tajik Muslim will participate in the Hajj this year. 14 flights are expected to be operated. The flights will be conducted from Dushanbe and Khujand – 11 from Dushanbe and 3 from Khujand.
In the meantime, Arabian business.com reported that airline companies in Saudi Arabia had said they are ready to handle the three million pilgrims expected to arrive for this year”s Hajj in December. The pledge was made at the annual meeting of BARSA (the Board of Airline Representatives in Saudi Arabia) held in Jeddah on November 2 to discuss preparations for the upcoming pilgrimage. More than 230 pilgrim flights are scheduled to arrive daily at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport, Arab News reported on November 3, and The Hajj Terminal has a capacity to handle more than 3,700 pilgrims an hour.
