Saudia Group has announced its operational plan for Hajj season 2024. The plan has been carefully designed to facilitate the pilgrims in all aspects. Pilgrims come to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from around the globe therefore extensive planning is required to cater for their needs and provide them with the best services so they can easily perform the Hajj Rituals. Hajj Season Plan 2024 has been designed in such a way that all the procedures have been streamlined and high-quality services are being aimed to be provided.
Hajj Season Plan 2024
An optimal investment has been made in the fleet of more than 150 crafts and 1.2 million seats have been allocated for the Hajj Pilgrims. It is a joint effort of Saudi Leadership and supported by various entities to serve the Hajj pilgrims efficiently.
74-Day Plan of Saudia Group
The operational plan of the national flag carrier has been started from 9th May and will continue for 74 days including both inbound and outbound stages. Special teams have been formed and have been allocated to various sectors such as Performance monitoring, terminal operations and Follow-up. These teams will work in coordination with other sectors.
Additional Resources have been allocated at King Abdul Aziz Airport lounges as it will keep a balance and will effectively manage the huge influx of pilgrims during pre- and post-Hajj flights. Emergency plan has also been developed with the collaboration of stakeholders to manage any immediate situation. Various virtual simulations have also been practised at Jeddah and Medina Airports. These activities act as training for the operational staff and they learn to smoothly carry out the operation.
Five Domestic Airports Used for Hajj Operation
The national carrier will use five domestic airports at Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Dammam and Yanbu to welcome the pilgrims. 11,000 frontline employees have been allocated to ensure smooth movement at airports. It is done to avoid Chaos and to maintain operational efficiency.
Makkah Route
120,000 pilgrims will be served via the “Makkah Route” initiative which is a good step to streamline the immigration process which usually takes a long time. Passengers have to wait in long queues for this procedure.
Luggage First Service
“Luggage First” service will be used and 270,000 bags will be handled as well as 240,000 Zamzam bottles.
Amer Al Khushail, CEO of Saudia Hajj and Umrah has given a statement: “The national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia is honoured to continue its pivotal role in serving pilgrims, ensuring their spiritual journey is enriched in line with the objectives of Vision 2030. Each year, we integrate the efforts across all sectors as we strive to enhance pilgrims’ satisfaction by implementing initiatives that streamline arrival procedures and airport check-in processes”.
“In preparation for the Hajj season, Saudia is committed to signing agreements with government delegations and travel agents, to ensure providing appropriate seat capacity for markets with high demand across over a hundred destinations in four continents. We offer seamless bookings through Saudia’s offices and online channels, we have also designed awareness campaigns regarding luggage acceptance criteria,” added Al Khashil.
Initiatives for Pilgrim’s Comfort
Saudi is offering several initiatives for the convenience of pilgrims such as
- Issuance of outbound and inbound boarding passes.
- For seamless communication, as the pilgrims are from different countries and it is important to understand their language, Saudia’s multilingual staff has been allocated at airports. These staff are proficient in more than 30 languages.
- For efficient service delivery airline also offers various meal options onboard, catering to people from different countries having different tastes.
- Special screens have been installed in the aircraft that will display announcements of Miqat (a boundary for pilgrims to start intent for the performance of Ḥajj) and prayer times.
- Islamic content is also offered on these screens to educate the pilgrims about rituals and Kingdom regulations, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
- To provide transport for disabled people, medical stretchers and oxygen equipment are provided onboard as needed. Also, Saudia still picks up pilgrims’ luggage from where they’re staying, making it easier for them to travel back home after completing their pilgrimage.
