JAKARTA: The Makkah Route Initiative is one example of Saudi Arabia’s tremendous efforts to serve pilgrims from all over the world and ensure that they perform their Hajj rituals in utmost comfort and with ease, according to a Saudi Press Agency (SPA) report on Monday.

The Saudi Ministry of Interior has been implementing the initiative for six consecutive years at 11 airports in seven countries: Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkiye and Côte d’Ivoire. So far, the initiative has served 617,756 pilgrims.

The Makkah Route Initiative facilitates issuing visas electronically and collecting biometric data, carrying out all travel procedures at the airports of the countries of departure, including ensuring that the pilgrims have a clean bill of health, and coding and sorting baggage, according to the transportation and accommodation arrangements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Many Indonesian pilgrims interviewed by the SPA at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport praised the initia
tive and said they hoped it would be implemented for many years, to make it easier for pilgrims to travel to the Kingdom and perform Hajj.

Source: Emirates News Agency