The top immigration official in Madinah, Brig. Muhammad bin Saad Al-Fakeer, accompanied by the head of immigration at the airport, Lt. Col. Badr Al-Mutairi, toured the lounge on Tuesday.
Al-Fakeer toured all the arrival and departure halls, met with the passport personnel and urged airport officials to make the utmost effort to accommodate pilgrims and other visitors. He asked officials to expedite data entry and to provide quick service to the arriving and departing visitors.
"This would leave a good impression on everyone coming to or leaving Madinah," he said.
Meanwhile, airport sources told Arab News that a new passenger lounge with escalators will soon be constructed in addition to other facilities to accommodate increasing numbers of passengers over the next 25 years. The airport's monthly capacity of 400,000 passengers will be raised to 1 million during that period. They also said the Haj and Umrah halls will be enlarged to cater to the needs of the steadily growing numbers of pilgrims.
Located about 15 km from the city center, the airport was constructed in 1971. It has since then witnessed a number of expansions and development projects.
