Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH – Foreign pilgrims started arriving in the Kingdom on Monday, Dhul Qada 1, which marks the beginning of the Haj season of 2017.

Abdul Hakeem Al-Tamimi, chief of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), was among the senior government officials, who received the first batch of Pakistani pilgrims at the Haj terminal of Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. In Madinah, pilgrims from Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Afghanistan were also accorded warm reception.

Shaheen Airline flight (NL-751), the first flight under Pakistan’s private Haj scheme, carrying 253 pilgrims, was the first Haj flight that landed in Jeddah. Welcoming the guests of Allah to the holy land, Al-Tamimi said that the Saudi government gives top priority in offering the best possible services and facilities tothe pilgrims. Tamimi and other senior officials of GACA and Ministry of Haj and Umrah greeted the pilgrims with welcome gifts and flowers.

The Pakistani pilgrims were also received by Imtiaz Shah, director Haj; M. Arshad Munir, consul press; and Saeed Sarwar, head of Chancery; and other officials of the consulate General and Pakistan Haj mission, Jeddah.

Also on Monday, the first Haj flight from Pakistan (PK 2003) with 329 pilgrims aboard arrived at Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah. At the airport, Sajid Yousafani, director general of Pakistan Haj Mission; Asif Memon, deputy consul general; Ashraf Lanjar, joint secretary in the Pakistani Ministry of Religious Affairs; and other officials of the embassy and consulate of Pakistan, received the pilgrims.

About 1,954 Pakistani pilgrims will arrive in Madinah under the government Haj scheme on board 8 flights on Tuesday.

Elaborate measures have been put in place to receive the pilgrims at both the airports.

The first batch of Indian pilgrims arrived in Madinah Monday morning. Indian Ambassador Ahmad Javed, Consul General Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh, and Deputy Consul General and Haj Consul Mohammed Shahid Alam were among those who received the pilgrims at the airport. A total of 2,260 Indian pilgrims on board eight flights landed in Madinah. There were 318 pilgrims on board the first Air India flight from Goa that touched down at the airport around 8 a.m. Consul General Sheikh told Saudi Gazette that the flight arrived half an hour ahead of schedule. The second flight that landed in Madinah was also from Goa.

Another six flights — two from New Delhi, and one each from Mangalore, Lucknow, Varanasi, and Guwahati also landed in Madinah. A total of 62,000 Indian pilgrims will arrive in Madinah over the coming days.

Pilgrims expressed satisfaction at the elaborate arrangements and the warm reception accorded to them at the airport. Members of the Madinah Haj Welfare Forum and other Indian community organizations were also present to receive the pilgrims.

The first Indian flight in Jeddah will arrive on Aug. 7 and those arriving in Jeddah will move to Madinah after the Haj. The Indian Haj Mission and all other stakeholders have made arrangements to accommodate all the pilgrims inside the Central Haram Area (Markaziyah) in Madinah. “If any pilgrim does not get accommodation inside the Markaziyah, the Haj mission will refund half of the money (about SR350) to the pilgrims,” Sheikh said.

A total of 170,000 Indian pilgrims will perform Haj this year, and these include 45,000 who will come through private tour operators. Pilgrims will return during the period from Sept. 6 to Oct. 6. Saudi Arabian Airlines and Flynas have joined Air India in transporting pilgrims.