According to Alhaji Abdul-Rahaman Gomda with touchdown of the flight at the Kotoka International Airport at about 5.40 pm today, the curtains will be drawn over Hajj 22.

He said the first batch of pilgrims for the Accra chapter of return trip touched down at about 8.30p.m.on Saturday with 426 passengers.

Earlier, he said the Tamale airport had received four flights of pilgrims which ended on Friday.

Three flights made up the Accra segment of the airlift for the Accra trip.

He said 3,069 Ghanaians performed the Hajj this year with two deaths recorded and one delivery.

“With only a month to prepare for the Hajj this year, unprecedented in the history of Hajj management in Ghana it was hectic and riddled with challenges.

The reduced quota from a usual 5,000 plus aggravated the challenges not forgetting the backlog of 2019 paid up persons who couldn’t make it because of the two-year suspended Hajj by Saudi authorities over COVID-19,” he added.

According to the Director of Finance of the Ghana Hajj Board, Hamza Farouk, refunds would be made to those who could not make the Hajj due to the limited number, when procedural reconciliation and auditing are done.

Hajj to the Holy City of Mecca Saudi Arabia is one of the five pillars of Islam, that is enjoined upon Muslim faithful who has the means and is healthy enough to undergo the vigorous religious rituals, at least once in a life time.

The pilgrimage to Mecca had been restricted by the Saudi authorities over the last two years due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but return to normal this year 2022 with reduced allocation to participating countries.

More than three million Muslims from across the globe, gather in the Holy city of Mecca each year, to undergo a six-day pilgrimage to the Kaaba and other symbolic religious activities to attain the pleasure of Allah and cleanses one of sins.