Rabat- Royal Air Maroc (RAM) received a certificate of appreciation and recognition for organizing the operation of Hajj (Muslim pilgrimage) for the year 1435 AH/2014AD by the General Civil Aviation Authority in Saudi Arabia and the directorate of King Abdelaziz International Airport.
The certificate comes "in recognition of the company's efforts to ensure the proper functioning of this religious event in the best of circumstances," says Morocco's national carrier in a statement.
The company carried more than 16,000 pilgrims to the Muslim holy lands in Saudi Arabia, an increase of 7% compared with last year.
The rise in numbers of pilgrims comes despite the decision of Saudi authorities to decrease the percentage of pilgrims allocated to each country by 20 % due to ongoing construction work to expand the Holy Mosque.
RAM said that for the 2014 Hajj operation, it scheduled 136 flights, including 24 regular flights and 112 additional ones. 13,405 pilgrims travelled on board the additional flights while 2863 on the regular flights.
106 of these flights landed in the Jeddah airport while the Medina airport received 30 flights.
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