In the U.S., events that place the highest demand on the business aviation ecosystem are often linked to vacations, entertainment, and holidays. Examples include the Superbowl, Thanksgiving, and the winter holiday season around Christmas.
In the Arabian Peninsula, a religious duty anchors the working year for many sector professionals. Millions of people travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to complete the Hajj pilgrimage, passing through the cities of Jeddah and Medina.
Historical record: This article reports ASM’s 2024 Hajj programme. For planning a forthcoming season, use the Hajj flight operations checklist and obtain current station and authority confirmation.
The 2024 Hajj flight programme
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a religious obligation for Muslims who are able to undertake it. Pilgrims typically arrive and depart from either Jeddah or Medina, then travel overland to Mecca.
For most, including Saudi nationals, air travel is essential to reach these cities. While some VIPs or high-net-worth individuals use private jets, most pilgrims fly on commercial airliners.
A small number of flight-support companies handle this enormous task. One of these companies is Aviation Services Management (ASM), based in the United Arab Emirates. ASM was founded in 1998 in the UK and has been supporting Hajj pilgrimage flights almost since its inception.
For the 2024 Hajj season, ASM reported supporting around 500 flights. A handful of these flights were for VIPs using business jets. However, the majority were unscheduled airliners.
ASM reported that these supported flights carried approximately 175,000 pilgrims in 2024. These are historical company figures, not a forecast for another season.
Planning a new Hajj flight programme
For a proposed Hajj operation, ASM supplies aviation fuel through trusted fuel supply partners, backed by flight planning, permit coordination and ground handling arrangements. Airlines and aircraft operators should provide the rotation, aircraft details, stations and expected uplift requirements. Fuel availability, handling acceptance, airport slots and permissions must be confirmed for the actual programme.
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Related Hajj programme guides
Hajj operator checklist · Airline fuel planning · 2024 ground-coordination interview
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