JEDDAH, 8 February 2004 — Saudi authorities have urged the Afghan and Iraqi Haj missions to make rapid arrangements for the return flights of their pilgrims. “The Afghan Haj mission has not yet given us the schedule for the return journey of its pilgrims,” Deputy Haj Minister Hatem Qadi said.
He said none of the 27,000 Afghans had left the Kingdom after Haj. “We are in touch with the Haj mission to make sure they make quick arrangement for the pilgrims’ return flights,” he said, adding that the mission would be held responsible for any delay.
The deputy minister said 15,000 pilgrims out of a total of 44,000 Iraqis who came for Haj had already left the Kingdom. The remaining 29,000 Iraqi pilgrims, who came by plane, will fly from Madinah after visiting the Prophet’s Mosque.
The Haj Ministry has asked the Iraqi Haj mission to contact a Dubai chartered flight company to transport the pilgrims back home without delay, Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted Qadi as saying.
More than two million pilgrims performed Haj this year. Among them, 200,000 pilgrims have been transported to airports in Jeddah and Madinah to board return flights to their home countries.
The use of Madinah Airport for the first time this year for international Haj flights reduced pressure on King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, the main pilgrims’ gateway.
In a related development, the Presidency of Civil Aviation has warned that it would impose fines of SR15,000 on foreign airlines that delay pilgrims’ return flights. The Haj Terminal will be open until March 6 for return Haj flights.
Sami Maqbool, director of KAIA, said the airport had received a total of 3,854 Haj flights transporting 938,948 pilgrims during this Haj.
KAIA is one of the world’s busiest airports during the Haj as every two minutes a plane lands and another takes off. Saudi engineers and technicians working in the airport’s control towers and at its radar play a big role in ensuring the pilgrims’ safety and security.
