Muslims around the world are gearing up for the Hajj season. It is the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Makkah in Saudi Arabia.
It takes place in the period between the 8th and 13th of the final month of the Islamic calendar, Dhu’al-Hijjah. Millions of Muslims from across the world heads to Makkah to perform Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam.
This year, Hajj will correspond to June 14-June 19. Preparations in Saudi Arabia are in full swing to receive over 2 million pilgrims and ensure a smooth and comfortable experience during their spiritual journey.
Aviation Sector
To ensure a smooth and seamless experience for pilgrims, the Kingdom’s transportation and logistics sector has finished preparations for the Hajj season and is ready to receive pilgrims by land, air, sea, and rail.
Leading the effort is the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), which has secured 3.4 million seats on 7,700 flights to accommodate the influx of pilgrims, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
It provides its services in 6 airports: King Abdulaziz International Airport (Jeddah), Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Madinah), Taif International Airport (Taif), King Khalid International Airport (Riyadh), Prince Abdul Mohsin bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Yanbu), and King Fahd International Airport (Dammam).
MATARAT Holding, a transportation services provider, has geared up to serve pilgrims at 13 travel lounges at those six airports.
It has mobilized over 21,000 personnel, and activated the “passenger with no bag” service, which allows pilgrims to finish departure procedures and check their luggage remotely up to 24 hours prior to their flights.
Comprehensive Plan
To ensure the smooth transportation of over 1.2 million pilgrims by air, the national Saudi carrier, Saudia Airlines, unveiled its plan for the upcoming Hajj season.
It announced it will operate from May 9 for 74 days for arrival and return journeys. It will deploy its 150-aircraft fleet to transport pilgrims from over 100 destinations.
Saudia has dedicated teams for monitoring performance, lounge operation and coordination with stakeholders. In cooperation with relative authorities, it has activated an emergency plan, tested through virtual simulations at Jeddah and Madinah airports.
Five domestic airports are ready to receive pilgrims: Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Dammam, and Yanbu. The “Hajj without Luggage” service will continue, aiming to handle 270,000 bags and distribute 240,000 bottles of Zamzam water.
Saudia Airlines also collaborates on the Makkah Route Initiative, serving 120,000 pilgrims with dedicated flights.
Makkah Route Initiative
The Makkah Route Initiative, one of the initiatives within the Pilgrim Experience Program, aims to provide high-quality services to pilgrims who benefit from the initiative. It provides dedicated lounges at 11 airports in seven beneficiary countries, including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco, Bangladesh, Türkiye, and Ivory Coast.
The initiative is a key component of the Kingdom’s efforts to ease the pilgrims’ travel. It facilitates procedures in their home countries, issues electronic visas, verifies health requirements, and handles luggage at departure airports.
Since its activation in 2019, the initiative’s total number of beneficiaries reached 617,756. During the Hajj season 2023, 242,272 pilgrims benefited from the initiative.
Harnessing AI
As a pioneer in artificial intelligence (AI), the Kingdom is deploying AI tools in its services. The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) is utilizing AI to provide technical and digital services for the Makkah Route Initiative.
SDAIA will deploy engineers and technicians in halls assigned to the initiative across 11 airports in beneficiary countries. They will be tasked with developing secure technical systems to meet service requirements, including border systems, Hajj systems, traveler registration systems, and biometric luggage tracking.
Warm Welcome
Under the Makkah Route Initiative, Saudi airports have been receiving pilgrims from beneficiary countries since Thursday. King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah welcomed the first group of pilgrims from Bangladesh.
Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in the Madinah region welcomed the first batches of pilgrims from Türkiye, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand and India.
The first group of South African pilgrims was received in Makkah on May 9, by the Company of Mutawifs for Pilgrims from African Non-Arab Countries, affiliated with Ithraa Alkhair Company for Pilgrim Services.
To enrich the Hajj experience, the Presidency of Religious Affairs at the Prophet’s Mosque has welcomed pilgrims arriving in Madinah with gifts and copies of the Holy Quran and guidance books in their native languages.
Railways and Ports
To facilitate pilgrim transportation during Hajj, the Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) operates Al-Mashaaer Al-Mugaddassah Metro Line through over 2,000 scheduled trips and 17 trains.
Through the “bracelet tickets” initiative, pilgrims will be able to access camp information via QR codes and receive train schedule alerts on their smartphones.
Furthermore, the Haramain High Speed Railway will run over 3,800 trips during Hajj season on 35 trains covering five stations.
Similarly, the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani) is ready to welcome around 10,000 pilgrims arriving at Jeddah Islamic Port. It will continue its “leave without luggage” initiative, under which pilgrims can check in their luggage 48 hours before departure.
Transportation and Roads
The Transport General Authority (TGA) has finished preparations for the Hajj season. To transport pilgrims efficiently, it will provide over 27,000 buses and 5,000 taxis.
The TGA has dedicated 16 public transport routes and coordinated with relevant authorities, to ensure the ease of movement. It has also taken safety measures, such as monitoring licensed carriers’ compliance with requirements.
The Authority will utilize new technologies as well, by introducing the “Taxi” application, using traffic monitoring technology, and expanding the use of virtual reality (VR) glasses.
Likewise, the Roads General Authority (RGA) has made sure that the road network throughout the Kingdom is ready to receive pilgrims.
It has taken measures to ensure the safety and comfort of pilgrims during their journey, including installing over 4,000 linear meters of concrete and metal barriers, placing over 500 warning and guidance signs, and implementing safety measures such as ground paints, and warning vibrations.
Zamzam Water
Saudi Arabia pays great attention to the purity and cleanliness of Zamzam water. To this end, the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque has devoted a laboratory to analyze Zamzam water and supervise all sterilization stages.
The sterilization process, done with ultraviolet rays, ensures the elimination of 99.77% of bacteria and viruses. Moreover, several measures are taken to ensure the safety of Zamzam water.
These include pumping it from the Zamzam well into a closed circuit of stainless steel pipes and fully enclosed tanks equipped with filters to block sands and impurities, and prevent any chemical reaction or microbiological activity. Then the water passes through other filters and goes through many stages of sterilization.
The authority requires health certificates from all those involved in distributing Zamzam water, to ensure that they do not carry infectious diseases. It also carries out continuous cleaning of the bases on which the containers are placed.
The Grand Mosque has over 20,000 containers of Zamzam water, and this number increases during Ramadan and Hajj seasons.
