His Excellency the Minister of Haj, Dr Bandar Bin Mohamed Hajar has declared that the targeted numbers of umrah pilgrims are aligned with KSA's aim to give Muslims the opportunity to perform the pilgrimage peacefully and securely. His Excellency also announced the first umrah pilgrim flight, with 489
umrah pilgrims aboard, has arrived at the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz
International Airport in Medina.
His Excellency has stated that to the Ministry of Haj in KSA is keen on
drawing up an integrated operational plan for the 1437 umrah season, which
starts on the first day of Safar (13 November 2015) and ends on the 15th of Shawwal (20
July 2016). He has also expressed that 41 umrah companies are currently
operating in KSA with over 3,500 agents abroad operating in 81 countries
around the globe. He adds that the Ministry is currently preparing
mechanisms that will guarantee, God willing, improvement in the quality
of services provided by the agents abroad to umrah pilgrims, and that
will ensure more transparency to the pilgrims themselves.
All of the latest technology has been applied to facilitate procedures and provide quality services swiftly, he said. The Mu'tamir's E-Portal has helped to ease the obtaining of visas and
service packages, which allowed umrah pilgrim volumes to grow to above 6
million in the past year, and cut the percentage of those who miss
their pilgrimage to 0.1%. The new technologies have helped to improve the performance of umrah
companies, eliminating bogus and unauthorised companies, and prevented
pilgrims from intentionally staying behind after completing Hajj or
umrah, he added. The Ministry looks after the pilgrims from the moment they intend to
perform umrah, through to their arrival in KSA by air, land and sea, and
continues until their departure.
He also stressed that KSA embassies are not paid any fees for issuing Hajj and umrah visas. The visas are issued free of charge for all pilgrims, and that the KSA spends billions of riyals yearly to facilitate Hajj and umrah visits.