The ruling on one who enters the state of ihram from his own country if he travels for Hajj by airplane?

The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah bless you, what is your opinion of the one who says that regarding the airplane now, it is difficult if one passes the miqat, meaning he says, for example, that one should enter ihram in his own country from the time it starts.

The Shaykh : The students have come out.

The questioner : He says that among some of the meanings of "before" is the inability to reach, like saying, for example, "before you receive the news of Qatadah," or something like that, so he uses the same hadith as evidence.

The Shaykh : And whoever is before that.

The questioner : Yes, meaning the one who has not been sent.

The Shaykh : No, that is a distortion of the hadith. No, and the matter is easy, meaning it is easy for a person if he measures the distance between his country and Makkah as one hour, and the miqat is in the middle, then when half an hour has passed, he enters ihram. Rather, when a third of an hour has passed, he enters ihram; there is no obstacle.

The questioner : This is clear, but your statement regarding what I said about the distortion of the hadith.

The Shaykh : Yes, there is no doubt, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) set the time for it, then said, "And whoever is before that." Peace be upon you.