JEDDAH — More than 225,000 Haj pilgrims can benefit from immigration pre-clearance at embarkation points in their home countries this year.

The steering committee of Makkah Route Initiative, one of the initiatives of the Guests of Allah service program, organized on Thursday a workshop under chairmanship of Director General of Passports Gen. Suleiman Al-Yahya.

The workshop reviewed the operational model of the initiative, which is being implemented during the pilgrimage season of this year 1440 AH to serve more than 225,000 pilgrims at the airports in Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Tunisia, and the readiness to implement the complementary procedures at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.

The initiative aims to improve the pilgrims' service and offers pre-clearance of immigration for pilgrims at their respective points of embarkation. The services include customs and passport procedures, facilitating health requirements, as well as sorting luggage according to transportation and housing arrangements in Saudi Arabia. — SPA