Hundreds of intending pilgrims bound for the 2026 hajj were stranded for about four days at Gateway International Airport in Iperu-Remo after Flynas Airlines reportedly declined to continue airlift operations from the newly commissioned facility.
Authorities had sent the first batch of 345 pilgrims from the airport on Sunday, when a Max Air flight carried them to Saudi Arabia, but subsequent flights stalled and scores of people remained at the terminal waiting for word.
The Ogun State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board eventually directed the stranded pilgrims to relocate to Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos for onward airlift to Saudi Arabia, a move pilgrims said came after days of uncertainty and mounting costs.
Some affected pilgrims said they had spent money set aside for the pilgrimage on feeding, transportation and medications while waiting for updates. Fatimo, one of those stuck at the airport, said: "I have almost exhausted all the money I have on me on food and drugs. We couldn’t go home because the plan was not for us to remain here this long, and nobody was saying anything to us,"
Another pilgrim quoted anonymously captured the anger many expressed at the length of the delay and what they saw as avoidable hardship: "We are not kids. If the airline said they cannot land there, let us move to Lagos where they can operate from. We have been suffering here for days," the pilgrim said, also complaining about poor accommodation conditions and mosquito infestation at the airport.
The numbers underline the strain. A first group of 345 was able to depart on Sunday, but the follow-on flow of pilgrims — described in official briefings and by the welfare board as the planned airlift — did not continue at Gateway, leaving hundreds behind for roughly four days until the relocation order.
That sequence — a newly commissioned airport, an initial successful flight, then a pause in operations that left pilgrims stranded — is the clearest friction in the story. Flynas reportedly declined to keep flying from Iperu-Remo, but no public timetable or explanation for the stoppage was provided to those waiting, who said they were left to cover unexpected costs and endure poor conditions.
Gateway International Airport in Iperu-Remo had recently been commissioned, and the state had presented it as an operational alternative for pilgrims leaving Ogun State. The breakdown between that promise and the reality on the ground followed the first Sunday departure and then days of stalled flights.
Outside the immediate logistics, there are broader preparations for the season. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health and the Public Health Authority launched a multilingual health awareness guide for the 1447 AH hajj season, and NAHCON warned that access to the Rawdah in Madinah would depend on approved bookings and space availability because of congestion and crowd control measures. Those announcements matter to pilgrims but do not resolve who carries the cost when an intended departure point becomes unusable.
The Ogun State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board moved to clear the backlog by ordering the relocation to Lagos, a practical step that still leaves the question of what happens to money families spent on food, lodging and medicine while stranded. Pilgrims said accommodation at the Iperu terminal was inadequate for the extended stay, and mosquito infestation added to their complaints.
The most immediate consequence is logistical: the board must get hundreds of people to Murtala Muhammed International Airport and onto flights that will complete their journey to Saudi Arabia. For those who have already spent scarce funds, the switch brings fresh burdens — extra transport, time lost, and health expenses for some.
Back at the terminal, Fatimo sat with the rest, clutching the last of her cash and waiting for the transfer order. The airport had promised a smoother path to hajj, but for now her pilgrimage hinges on whether the Lagos move will be executed quickly and whether any lost money will be recouped; until then she and others remain stranded between home and the pilgrimage they had planned for months.
