JEDDAH, 27 January 2005 — Saudi Arabian Airlines will operate 556 Haj flights from King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah and 456 flights from Prince Muhammad Airport in Madinah to transport 353,806 foreign pilgrims to their destinations.
“We have worked out a comprehensive plan to transport the guests of God back home,” said Dr. Khaled Ben-Bakr, the airline’s director general. The plan was prepared after looking into shortcomings that occurred in previous Haj operations, he added.
Dr. Ben-Bakr said Saudia offices in Makkah and Madinah would issue boarding passes to pilgrims 72 hours before flight departure. He said the airline’s offices in the holy cities would work 16 hours daily to meet pilgrims’ needs.
Saudia planned to operate 4,500 flights to and from 86 cities around the world to transport nearly one million pilgrims during this Haj season. Dr. Ben-Bakr said Saudia’s Haj plan would be implemented in coordination with the Haj Ministry and other government departments.
During the last two days Saudia operated more than 288 scheduled and additional flights to transport pilgrims. “Since last Sunday, Saudia management has started implementing the plan for the return journey of pilgrims,” he said.
Dr. Ben-Bakr highlighted the success story of Saudia’s Haj operations. “The extent of the success achieved so far could be measured by the increase in the numbers of pilgrims transported by Saudi Arabian Airlines year after year,” he pointed out.
He said numerous pilgrimage organizations and specialized agencies in many Islamic countries were keen to conclude agreements with the airline for transporting their pilgrims.
He also noted the professionalism displayed by Saudia staff, the airline’s on-time performance and its flight tabulation system leaving sufficient time between incoming and outgoing flights thereby easing overcrowding at airport lounges.
Saudia posted a 40 percent increase in its revenues in 2003, the largest in its 60-year history. “All indicators show that we will continue to make good profits from operations in 2004,” Dr. Ben-Bakr said.
He said flexible and competitive prices, concentration on profitable markets and increase in Haj flights from all over the world were the main features of its strategy. “We have achieved 92.31 percent on time performance in the first half of 2004 despite the large number of (average 260) flights we operate daily,” said Dr. Ben-Bakr.
