The first flights carrying beneficiaries of the Makkah Route Initiative arrived in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
The pilgrims arrived from Türkiye, Pakistan and Bangladesh and entered through the initiative's terminal at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.
The Makkah Route Initiative aims to deliver high-quality services to pilgrims from beneficiary countries by receiving them and completing their procedures with ease in their homelands. This begins with biometric data collection and the electronic issuance of Hajj visas, followed by passport procedures at the departure airport after verifying health requirements, and the coding and sorting of luggage in line with transport and accommodation arrangements in the Kingdom.
Pilgrims then proceed directly to buses designated to take them to their residences in Makkah and Madinah via dedicated routes, while partner entities ensure their luggage is delivered to them.
The Ministry of Interior is implementing the initiative in its eighth year in cooperation with the ministries of foreign affairs, health, Hajj and Umrah, and media, along with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the General Authority for Awqaf, the Pilgrim Experience Program, and the General Directorate of Passports, in integration with the digital partner stc Group.
The initiative has served 1,254,994 pilgrims since its launch in 2017.
