Carriers vow smooth flow of haj pilgrims

Arrivals and departures of pilgrims for Haj will be smooth and efficient process, representatives of more than 50 airlines have ensured, Saudi Arabian daily Arab News reported Saturday. Airline officials also outlined steps that will avoid overcrowding at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah. Officials said this during a meeting chaired by Saudi Arabian Airlines Deputy Director general Abdul Aziz bin Rahaim Al Hazmi. "This is a new addition to the combined efforts being made to provide consummate services to pilgrims from the moment of their arrival in the Kingdom until their departure," Al Hazmi said. Representatives of other concerned departments also attended the meeting that discussed matters pertaining to the transportation of pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia. The meeting also discussed other services being extended to pilgrims including issuing of boarding passes at the country of origin and providing necessary equipment and manpower to operate flights. Al Hazmi said Saudi Arabia has completed all arrangements for the Haj season through the provision of all human and material potential in all stations and preparation of Haj flight schedules in addition to other operational requirements within its annual Haj plan. Sources told Arab News that the representatives of the departments concerned in the government have called for bringing staff from countries of origin to work at the departure lounge in the Kingdom to facilitate the movement of their pilgrims, enlightening them about the Haj formalities, informing them about their departure time and making sure they were vaccinated against epidemics. Last week the Haj Ministry announced that it would implement a three-pronged strategy to prevent overcrowding of pilgrims at the KAIA in Jeddah. The ministry said it would set up a monitoring committee to supervise movement of pilgrims, set up a center for dispatching pilgrims in groups and set up a checkpoint to ensure pilgrims have confirmed bookings. The new measures were put in place following the chaos and confusion created by thousands of pilgrims at the KAIA during Ramadan. As a result, many flights were either canceled or delayed. Deputy Minister for Umrah Affairs Eissa Al Rawass had said the supervising committees in Makkah and Madinah would make sure the baggage of pilgrims conformed to IATA regulations in terms of size and weight. The ministry''s checkpoint would be at the entrance of the airport''s terminals, adding that officials would check documents of pilgrims as well as the times of their return flights. He said the ministry was co-ordinating with other relevant agencies on the return journey of Umrah pilgrims to ensure their smooth departures. "We had obtained the flight schedules of all airlines carrying Umrah pilgrims and instructed Umrah service companies to transport their pilgrims to airport six hours before the departure of their flights," Al Rawass said. (