This country is blessed with the existence of the two of the three holiest places of worship in the Muslim world, Makkah and Madinah. And both these cities greet millions from all over the world annually to come and rejuvenate their faith in Islam. In the not so distant past, the inflow of pilgrims was traditionally a Ramadan and Haj occurrence. But with more affluence among pilgrims today, we are witnessing a year round homage to our blessed shrines.

Because of these cities’ proximity to the port city of Jeddah, a city blessed with the unconvincing distinction of boasting an international airport, most pilgrims from overseas fly in first to Jeddah before they are summarily off on their journey of faith. And the Jeddah airport being what it is, most pilgrims do leave with an unfavorable first impression.

Inadequate terminal buildings, sub-par passenger facilities, lack of parking lots and poorly controlled environment, among other factors, make this airport below standards found in most of the world.

But let’s forget the Jeddah airport for now. This column is not at all about it. I have written enough in the past on this topic.

Instead, I would rather focus on a notion that was sprung by a dear relative at a recent dinner. Since the masses of pilgrims have a clear desire to spend most of their visiting days in the cities of Makkah and Madinah, why not open up Taif Airport to accommodate international flights with carriers from all over? And with a moderate face-lift, Taif Airport would be able to take on this additional responsibility.

Taif’s welcoming weather, especially in the summer months, and its natural hilly landscape would provide our visitors a much more pleasant alternative to the mishmash of buildings and pot-holed streets that a visitor is sure to experience on his arrival in Jeddah. Existing highways between Taif and Makkah can easily facilitate the mass movement of worshippers to the holy shrine in Makkah without adding to the overcrowdedness of Jeddah.

The airport in Madinah, lying on the fringes of the city, could also expand its facilities and operations to increase the frequency of overseas visitors directly to that city. The pilgrims would benefit from the added comfort of not going through bus or taxi transfers from Jeddah. Instead they would be able to devote more of their precious time to prayers and worship. The two cities themselves will benefit from the economic value of the added visitors.

For this notion to come to a real-time realization, certain government agencies need to get moving. The Civil Aviation authorities, the Kingdom’s airport authorities and the national carrier could speedily study and formulate their plans. While the airport in Madinah has been receiving a small number of international flights, these could be expanded in frequency and the number of carriers allowed. Ground and terminal facilities are not a daunting task to upgrade. The revenue earned by the extra flights and from a multitude of carriers and visitors will far outweigh the initial expenditure to improve facilities.

And as a byproduct, all of us would be direct beneficiaries of the gracious thanks of our righteous guests.