JEDDAH: Officials at Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah held a meeting on Sunday to oversee the operational plans for this year’s Hajj season, due to begin next month.
The airport’s general director, Essam Nour, met with government sectors operating at the airport to discuss those plans, a report by Asharq al-Awsat has said.
Nour said huge achievements had been witnessed during the past Umrah season, where more than 9 million Umrah pilgrims have been coming and departing the airport, starting from the month of Muharram (Sept. 21, 2017) until the tenth of Shawwal (June 24, 2018), via 30,000 air flights.
He spoke about this year’s operational plan during Hajj season, which will be implemented under the supervision of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), as well as other government and civil institutions.
The plan, Nour explained, aims to ensure the comfort of all pilgrims as well as their safety, starting from their arrival in Jeddah until they board their return flights.
KAIA, located 19 km to the north of downtown Jeddah, is the busiest airport in Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s third largest.
The portal, which receives the majority of pilgrims coming via air travel, has been preparing to welcome its guests as soon as they touch down in Jeddah.
Nour said this operational plan is set to begin on August 15. He said the number of pilgrims arriving and departing through the airport is expected to reach around 2.98 million.
