The students will be evacuated from Egypt in a phased manner within the next few days as nationwide protests against President Hosni Mubarak gain momentum in Egypt.

The first two planes, carrying about 600 Malaysian students, were expected in Jeddah early Friday.

"Jeddah will serve as a transit point for Malaysian students," said Ahmad Husni A. Basri, spokesman for the Malaysian Consulate in Jeddah, on Thursday. Ahmad thanked Saudi officials for their help and providing all logistical support in facilitating the evacuation.

According to a report published in the Malaysian media on Thursday, Prime Minister Najib Razak sent a message to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah thanking him for his support. The premier expressed gratitude for allowing Malaysian aircraft to use Jeddah’s Haj Terminal as a transit point for the evacuees before they proceed to Malaysia.

A Malaysian diplomat said more than 11,000 students from Egypt would be evacuated. The students will be flown out on Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia planes. Plans have been made to fly at least 3,000 students from Cairo to Jeddah every day from Friday, he added.

He said Malaysia's National Security Council has been entrusted with the rescue mission in Egypt. Each flight from Cairo to Jeddah will carry a total of at least 345 stranded Malaysians.

The Kingdom has already evacuated a large number of its own nationals. Currently, the United States and Iraq are evacuating their citizens, while Turkey, India, Greece and Canada have sent planes to do so.

About 18,000 to 25,000 travelers can be seen at any given time at Cairo International Airport trying to find a way out of the country as protests against Mubarak mount.

Check-in counters remain poorly staffed, mainly because many employees are unable to reach work due to curfew, while others are delayed because of severe traffic congestion across the Egyptian capital.