Saudi Arabia Starts Receiving Hajj Pilgrims in Jeddah, Madina

Arrival of pilgrims at Madinah airport.

eddah, MINA – Hajj pilgrims arrived through air, land, and sea ports to the kingdom, expecting to be around 1.8 million people by the end of this month, Saudi authorities said Monday.

In a statement, the ministry of Hajj and Umrah said that the first flight coming from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was carrying 325 passengers, KUNA reported.

The passengers were received by President Abdulhakim Al-Tamimi of General Authority of Civil Aviation and a number of officials of the government sectors operating at the airport.

Another three flights were carrying pilgrims also coming from Pakistan carrying 651 people, and afterward other flights started to arrive from various parts of the world.

The ministry expected the number to increase by the end of this month to around 1.8 million pilgrims.

The ministry also expects the number of Hajj pilgrims arriving through King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah to around 950,000 and in Al-Madina Al-Munawara city to 750,000, while around 100,000 people will be arriving through land and sea.

The ministry noted that pilgrims would be from 178 nationalities. (T/RS5/RS1)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)