JEDDAH, 13 December 2004 — The Haj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) opened last night to receive Haj flights from the world over.
Earlier in the day, Haj Minister Iyad Madani visited Makkah and discussed with top officials of the ministry as well as related departments their preparations for the upcoming annual pilgrimage.
The minister said the Makkah office of the ministry had prepared a comprehensive plan for the Haj season after taking into consideration the shortcomings of the previous seasons. The Central Haj Committee also reviewed the preparations for pilgrims.
The regulations of the Presidency of Civil Aviation have been in focus once again to make the transport of Haj pilgrims “safer and more comfortable,” according to Saudi Arabian Airlines Director General Dr. Khaled Ben-Bakr. The new guidelines, which took effect last year, define the technical measures and operational provisions applied on all flights.
The regulations include all necessary arrangements to secure the return of pilgrims to their destinations after the pilgrimage.
The season’s first flight at the Haj Terminal is expected to be from India. “The first Haj flight will be by Air-India bringing Haj pilgrims from Srinagar at around 3 p.m., followed by three other flights (today),” Abdul Majid Padar, Consul (Haj), said yesterday. The three flights include one by Saudi Arabian Airlines from Madras at 4:20 p.m. and two others from Srinagar by Air-India at 5:50 p.m. and 7:20 p.m.
Meanwhile, Abdul Halim Mohamed Amin, vice consul at the Singapore Consulate clarified that there was, in fact, a slight drop in the number of Haj pilgrims coming from the island state. “We’ll have 2,600 Haj pilgrims this time as against 2,700 during the last season,” he said.
