Kautal Jude Travels Tours Leads Gombe Pilgrims To Hajj In Historic Airlift
By Muhammad Faruk Bayu, Gombe
In a significant achievement for Gombe State and the entire North-East region, Kautal Jude Travels and Tours, in partnership with Hamsyl Travels and Tours, has successfully organised the airlift of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2025 Hajj.
This operation, which saw the first Hajj flight take off from Gombe on May 26, 2025, carried 490 pilgrims aboard Max Air. Among them were 307 men and 183 women, departing from Lawanti Airport and landing in Madinah at King Abdulaziz International Airport.
Speaking with Shafi’u Mohammed, a staff member of Kautal Jude Travels, he explained that the agency provided full services to the pilgrims, including meals, uniforms, travel bags, and health guidance. “Our pilgrims received proper care from the moment they collected their travel documents,” he said.
He added that although this was not the first time the agency was involved in Hajj operations, it was one of the largest and most organised. “We faced a minor challenge when Max Air’s landing arrangement at Gombe airport was uncertain, but it was resolved quickly,” he noted.
The agency, founded in 2012 and based in Gombe near the Tudun Hatsi axis by the Gombe Shopping Complex, entered the Hajj travel sector to assist relatives and friends who found it difficult to travel to Kano. Seeing the demand, Alhaji Dahiru Saidu, the founder, launched his own company to serve people closer to home.
Kautal Jude has no formal partnership with government bodies or Hajj commissions but remains fully independent. Despite this, the agency has made remarkable achievements. Last year, it transported around 900 pilgrims, and this year, over 800, making it one of the largest private Hajj operators in Nigeria.
“The response from our pilgrims has been very positive. They appreciated the smooth journey and the services provided,” Shafi’u said. “We are committed to continuing our work and improving every year.”
