RIYADH: Success has eluded many people trying to register with the Haj Ministry’s e-portal for domestic Haj as their attempts to log into the site have failed.

Based on the latest data, only 39,594 pilgrims, out of over 130,000 applicants inside the Kingdom could record their data on the website during the first eight hours of the first day of the program. Five thousand applicants registered in just one hour.

Hussein Mohammed, an expat, said he spent one-and-a-half days trying to register his details, but failed. He said the site seeks all his information but as soon as he finishes, an error message pops up forcing him to repeat the exercise all over again.

Ahmed Abdulhafez, another expat, said it was a time-consuming process and the data required is difficult as most expats are not familiar with Hijri dates.

Mahmoud Talaat, an IT manager, suggested the system should only ask for the name and the iqama number and, subsequently, pilgrims can give all the information needed when they visit the operator’s office to complete the registration and pay the fee.

Some Haj campaigns were not available on the website as it is not fully developed yet. Their bank accounts were not available. Therefore, registration did not start for them.

The activity was personally monitored by Haj Minister Bandar Hajjar.

Hajjar’s deputy Hussain Al-Shareef said the objective of making the process easier for domestic pilgrims was achieved by e-registration.

Meanwhile, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah has reduced the time taken to complete formalities for incoming pilgrims from three hours, as was the case before, to 45 minutes.

On Sunday, it received first Haj flights with 418 pilgrims coming from Bangladesh.

When pilgrims enter their lounges, they are received by Health Ministry employees who familiarize them with services provided.

Pilgrims then proceed to the passport windows to complete the formalities, and then to collect their baggage and clear customs.

Following that, the pilgrims move to their buses heading to Makkah.