JEDDAH, 22 October 2007 — Chaotic conditions at the North Terminal of King Abdul Aziz International Airport which began with the rush of Eid holiday travelers and returning Umrah passengers continued yesterday. Passengers continued to find difficulty in gaining entry into the terminal halls for security checks and check-in formalities.
The situation worsened further with the delay of up to several hours in the departure of many flights.
The scene at the airport was one of Umrah pilgrims squatting everywhere with their luggage trolleys and some others, including regular passengers, crowding the area after entering the terminal from the only entry gate.
Airlines, travel agents and Umrah operators yesterday pleaded their helplessness in assisting their passengers at the airport, where passengers have been completing each level of formality after a wait ranging from one to four hours. “The situation is very bad. I have not seen such a chaotic situation here in the 30 years of my airport operations,” a senior travel agent told Arab News.
“The problem is becoming worse by the day because there are too many Umrah passengers in addition to the regular passengers and all are going through only one terminal gate. All the other gates are locked. Naturally, all passengers are crowding around the only gate in an attempt to enter the airport,” he said. “Even staff members of various international airlines and their flight crews have been finding difficulty in entering the terminal.”
Inquiries show that both regular and special (Umrah) flights are departing from the terminal. One other reason for chaotic conditions is that the terminal renovation, which started 10 months ago, is under way.
“I have been here with my luggage for over two days and have not been able to get inside the terminal,” a Pakistani Umrah pilgrim, Mian Hafeez, said. “In the process, I have missed my flight and don’t know when I will fly out. I can find no one who will listen to my plight.”
Many pilgrims have blocked the terminal with their baggage trolleys thus obstructing a smooth passage for other travelers.
Some Pakistani pilgrims squatting outside the terminal building blamed their Umrah operators for the situation. “Our agent brought our group and we are now without any help or guide,” Sultan Gohar, one of the pilgrims, said. Some of them were squatting under the terminal’s expansion project. A majority of the pilgrims were old, with women outnumbering men.
Inside the terminal, passengers were squatting on the floor with luggage trolleys expecting their airline check-in counters to open. “I have waited here for four hours for my 2.20 p.m. Mumbai Air-India flight, but am now told that the flight has been delayed by more than three hours,” an Indian passenger said.
An old Egyptian woman was in tears when she told Arab News: “I came to the airport on Friday and am still here. I have been here for three days without food. I missed my flight because I was caught in the crowd. I don’t know how long I will have to wait for a flight to return home.”
She added that she could not afford food at the airport cafeteria as she did not have enough money. “I have managed with leftovers or with whatever people would buy me,” she said.
Mustafa Alminyawi, an Egyptian pilgrim in his 60s, said he arrived at the terminal five hours before his flight. He was lying on the floor with his wife, two sisters and their luggage trolleys.
“Our flight is expected to depart in a couple of hours and we will need about an hour more for completing our check-in formalities,” he said, adding that he had not encountered any difficulty at the airport.
Airport staff of various airlines said some of their flights were delayed, especially in the past week, as there had been a delay in passengers completing baggage scanning and check-in formalities.
Many passengers of regular international flights said the situation could have been better controlled if they had all been organized in proper queues at the terminal’s entry point.
“Airport security staff are continuously trying to organize the crowd of passengers but they switch positions, frustrated by the slow movement of the queue,” an airline staff member said.
Several flights were delayed because the flights on earlier days had been delayed, causing a chain reaction. Meanwhile, the passengers continue to suffer.
