2027 Hajj: India Unveils Airlift Plans for 122,518 Pilgrims
By Abdulrazaq Auwal
India has unveiled an airlift plan for the 122,518 intending pilgrims who registered for the 2027 pilgrimage, outlining flight-operation windows covering arrivals and return journeys through Jeddah and Madinah.
The proposed plan allocates 55,408 pilgrims to LAP-I, 53,735 to LAP-II and 13,375 to the Short Hajj operation, bringing the total expected number of pilgrims to 122,518.
Under LAP-I, the first phase of flights is scheduled to land at Madinah from April 8 to April 22, 2027, while return flights from Jeddah are planned between May 22 and June 5, 2027.
For LAP-II, pilgrim arrivals at Jeddah are scheduled from April 23 to May 8, followed by return flights from Madinah between June 6 and June 20, 2027.
The Short Hajj operation provides for arrivals at Jeddah between May 6 and May 9, with return flights from Madinah scheduled between May 22 and May 25, 2027 .
The plan covers 18 embarkation points across India, including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Gaya, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kannur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Srinagar and Vijayawada.
2027 Hajj: India Unveils Airlift Plans for 122,518 Pilgrims
To manage airport operations and flight capacity, the document directs that airlines should operate no more than two to three flights per day.
It also sets specific requirements for the Srinagar embarkation point, where designated Indian airlines are expected to submit bids and operate direct flights between Srinagar and Jeddah or Madinah.
The Srinagar flights are to operate during non-peak hours, specifically between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
The proposed arrangement allows pilgrim numbers at other embarkation points to vary by up to 10 per cent above or below the projected figures, while airlines must also submit plans for removing disabled aircraft when applying for schedule and slot clearance.
The plan signals an early push to coordinate India’s 2027 Hajj airlift around defined arrival, departure and airport-capacity windows, with the operation expected to move more than 122,000 pilgrims through multiple embarkation points.
