Jeddah-based King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) has approved the operational plan for the Hajj season 2018 (1439), which is being supervised by the KSA General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in cooperation with governmental and private sectors, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported.
The plans cover pilgrims from their arrival to departure.
As of July 30, GACA has reported that 416,086 pilgrims have arrived by air via King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah on 2,010 flights, SPA said.
King Abdulaziz International Airport hosted 117,441 pilgrims, on 651 flights, an increase of 7% compared to 1438, while the number of pilgrims who came via Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah reached 298,645 on 1,359 flights, an increase of 3% year-on-year.
SPA separately reported that the General Cars Syndicate (GCS) aims to transport 1,820,000 Hajjpilgrims this year through an integrated fleet of modern and advanced transport buses.
A GCS report notes that the syndicate transported 1,324,000 Hajj pilgrims in 1435, 1,364,000 pilgrims in 1436, 1,334,000 pilgrims for 1437, and 1,644,335 pilgrims last year, 1438.