JEDDAH, 15 February — Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed has said that the Kingdom will spare no effort to enable pilgrims perform Haj rituals in ease and comfort and that all preparations to receive over a million foreign pilgrims are in place and will proceed according to plan.
Speaking at King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah where hundreds of thousands of Muslims continue to arrive from all over the world for the annual pilgrimage to Makkah, the prince said everyone involved in the service of pilgrims should take pride in what they are doing.
"The people of Saudi Arabia are fortunate ... to be honored with the service of the holy places, the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah," he said.
According to Maj. Gen. Abdul Aziz Sajeeni, director general of the Passports Department, 434,382 pilgrims arrived by Tuesday night.
Accompanied by senior officials, Prince Abdul Majeed, who is also the chairman of the Central Haj Committee, yesterday toured the airport facilities and auxiliary services including the passports and custom departments. He received a group of pilgrims who landed at the airport during the tour and presented each of them with a copy of the Holy Qur'an. "I congratulate you on your safe arrival and wish you a blessed and acceptable pilgrimage. I want to assure you that the government has made available all the services the pilgrims need from the moment they arrive till they leave the country," he told the group. He expressed satisfaction over the standard of services at the airport.
At the premises of Saudi Arabian Airlines which this year plans to transport 750,000 pilgrims from more than 60 destinations, Prince Abdul Majeed was briefed by the airline's director general, Dr. Khaled Bakr.
Dr. Ali Al-Khalaf, president of the Civil Aviation Authority, said the Kingdom's airports handed more than 28.7 million passengers in 1999 including 12 million through KAIA which accounts for 40 percent of overall air traffic.
A SR89.8 million contract was recently signed to develop and expand of the airport and raise its capacity to 21 million passengers.
Prince Abdul Majeed said new regulations have been introduced regarding transportation of pilgrims during Haj to ensure their safety and maintain the standard of service.
He said there would be no shortage of sacrificial animals this year following the ban imposed by on the import of livestock from neighboring countries. "God willing, there will be no shortage. The ban covers only those countries that have diseases."
