Groups of pilgrims from Turkey, Europe, the US and Australia have begun leaving Makkah after performing Haj, bound for Madinah where they will visit the Prophet’s Mosque…reports Asian Lite News
Zuhair Mohammed Khattab Shaker, the managing director of the Haj service for the pilgrims from these areas, said that the process for those who travel from Makkah to Madinah, or to Jeddah from where they will depart for their homelands, is carried out in accordance with approved official procedures.
These procedures offer pilgrims the chance to perform one last tawaf around the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque and include regular bus services to take the pilgrims to their next destination, he said.
The departure of pilgrims is facilitated by Al-Rifada (Haj service) centers, using workers provided by the General Syndicate of Cars to transport luggage, which means that pilgrims do not have to personally visit the offices of authorities to complete departure procedures themselves.
Meanwhile, as many as 98,816 pilgrims have benefited from Makkah Route Initiative which was launched by the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year to enable pilgrims in five countries end their immigration, cargo and travel procedures to the holy sites before they depart for the Kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
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The service, emanating from the Kingdom’s vision 2030, was done through 274 flights from their countries to Jeddah King Abdulaziz international airport and Madina Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz international airport. They were coming from 58 stations of their countries with an average of finalizing the procedures of each passenger in one minute and 48 seconds.
The initiative was implemented in the airports of Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
Special Saudi teams were sent to each of those destinations to assist local staff finalise the procedures.
