Airline operators briefed about new Haj guidelines

JEDDAH, 15 January 2003 — According to the rules, unescorted females below the age of 50 coming for Haj are denied entry by the Immigration Department, Dr. Eissa Rawas, assistant deputy minister in the Ministry of Haj, said here yesterday. Likewise, handicapped pilgrims also have to arrive with escorts, Rawas told a meeting of King Abdul Aziz International Airport’s Airlines Operators Committee.

He made his comments when a representative of a Middle East airline referred to a report that a number of female pilgrims had been refused entry recently by immigration officials at the Haj Terminal.

“Female pilgrims over 50 years of age do not need escorts to enter the Kingdom,” he clarified.

The agenda for the meeting, which is held every Haj season, included a discussion of the new system of immigration landing cards bearing barcodes. Each strip is meant for the use of various official agencies and keep track of pilgrims from the moment they arrive until their departure.

“This way all official agencies will have an identical 10-digit number for every pilgrim thus eliminating mistakes and confusion of the past,” Rawas said, urging airlines to keep adequate stock of such cards much before the arrival of their Haj flights.

Formerly the numbers were written by hand and there were chances of committing mistakes in the process.

Detailing some of the new measures taken by the ministry, Rawas said a wireless network connecting the three cities of Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah had been established and that the Car Syndicate had been making use of this network.

“We’ve also initiated a training program to provide guides for Haj pilgrims speaking English, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, French and Malay. Berlitz, an language training institute, has been contracted for this purpose,” he said, adding that skills in computer and religious guidance will also be imparted to such guides to enable them to render effective service to the pilgrims.

About 1,500 such guides are being trained, most of them to be placed in Makkah. Another new facility introduced this time is a shuttle transport service to run continuously from Arafat to Mina during the five-day pilgrimage. Such shuttles, which are operated along a separate lane, were first introduced for Turkish pilgrims but will now be extended to Indonesian pilgrims and to Southeast Asian pilgrims in the future, Rawas said.

In addition to 158,936 pilgrims who have arrived since the opening of the Haj Terminal on Jan. 4 both in Jeddah and Madinah airports, over a million others would be coming before Feb. 5, the last day set for flying them in. Rawas said 1.1 million Haj pilgrims flew in last year, “but we expect this figure to exceed this time.”

The Haj commences on Feb. 9.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health Osama Shubokshi held a meeting with Haj committees and sectors to follow up preparations for medical services during Haj for pilgrims this year in Makkah, Madinah, Mina, Arafah and Muzdalifah.

All 80 health centers in Makkah are ready in addition to seven hospitals at the holy sites and seven hospitals in Makkah. Officials discussed the introduction of ambulances which have been approved for permanent Haj service after they proved effective last year.