JEDDAH: The Haj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah has received more than 300,000 pilgrims in the last two weeks, which is twice the number received last year during the same period, according to airport officials.
Officials took local media representatives on a tour of the Haj Terminal on Monday.
Mohammad, a wheelchair-bound 93-year-old pilgrim from Pakistan, said through tears and thankful prayers that this was his second time to come for Haj.
Describing the procedures for receiving pilgrims as "complicated but organized," Samir Mira, an official of Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport, said the Haj Terminal the enormous, shaded outdoor facility located near the North Terminal could receive up to six flights per hour.
"First all pilgrims go to the health section for inspection, then to the Passport Department, which takes longer because of the fingerprinting operation," said Mira.
"The pilgrims then visit the Ministry of Haj section and finally to their Haj agencies, which organize the housing and transportation," he said.
The official added that long queues in the process can occur due to difficulties in dealing with the many different cultural and linguistic backgrounds of the pilgrims.
Adnan Al-Saggaf, deputy executive manager Ports Projects Management and Development Company, a private company in charge of the airport operations, said there are 22,000 employees at the Haj Terminal.
He added that the employees face the challenge of shifting operations from receiving pilgrims to seeing them off within a five-day window during which the Haj takes place.
Answering a question about women employees at the Haj Terminal, Al-Saggaf said they are mainly working in security operations and nursing. He did not give a percentage of the women staff.
Mira said flight delays can lead to bottlenecks in jet traffic at the terminal, thus airlines are urged to keep to their schedules.
"There will be fines imposed on airlines delaying their flights," he said. "This can also lead to preventing them from participating in the coming Haj seasons."
Mira said three national and 75 international carriers operate Haj flights. The national carriers ferrying the pilgrims are Saudi Arabian Airlines, Nasair and Al-Wafeer.
This year, the airport has more hotel rooms, boarding lounges, air-bridges and immigration counters.
By FATIMA SIDIYA
© Arab News 2010
