2,500 Kazakh citizens to carry out Hajj

ASTANA. KAZINFORM Kazakhstan will ensure the Hajj pilgrimage for 2,500 people between 22nd and 25th of August, Kazinform correspondent reports.

According to the Head of the Hajj Department of the Kazakhstan Muslims Spiritual Directorate, Beibit Myrzageldiyev, the pilgrims will fly non-stop to Mecca from Almaty, Astana and Shymkent.

This year, the Hajj will begin on 22nd-25th of August and end on 6th-10th of September. Over 2,500 people are planning to perform the Hajj. 16 travel agencies will arrange safe transportation of piligrims to Mecca. Those who are going to perform the Hajj with the help of the Spiritual Directorate will be transported by Saudi Arabia's Flynas and Kazakhstan's SCAT airline.

In other words, 1,250 people will go by planes of the Kazakh company, and the rest will use the services of the foreign one. Last year, a question arose about the transportation of pilgrims by air. This year, the SCAT airline reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia and received the appropriate permission.

It is noteworthy that last year 3,000 people of Kazakhstan carried out the Hajj. The Government of Saudi Arabia this year increased the quota for pilgrims by 800,000 people and up to 2.6 million people will be able to carry out Hajj.