JEDDAH: More than 570,000 Haj pilgrims on board 2,120 flights had left the Kingdom by Saturday through Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport, said Mazen Khashoggi, director of the airport.
Close to 1.4 million pilgrims entered the Kingdom through King Abdul Aziz International Airport. Khashoggi said more pilgrims were yet to leave for their respective countries via the airport.
“The smooth departure of pilgrims is attributed to a number of reasons, including the close follow up by the Makkah governorate which is directly supervising operations at the Haj terminals,” said Khashoggi.
He added that daily reports are being filed to the governorate.
The airport director said the scheduling of flights has contributed immensely to reducing the number of passengers waiting at airport departure lounges, a hallmark of the past.
“The continuous communication and coordination regarding the movement of pilgrims from their places of accommodation in Makkah and Madinah to the airport has also played a huge role in smoothing the departure process,” he added.
Khashoggi said the airport’s basic infrastructure has been improved to deal with any potential difficult weather.
He added that the heavy rains and flash floods that hit Jeddah last month did not — contrary to what happened to Saudia’s computer network — affect buildings at the airport.
Khashoggi said work is ongoing to develop facilities and procedures at the airport to improve the arrival and departure process of travelers, especially pilgrims.
