Makkah News and Updates

24 September 2013

The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has urged airlines not to operate all their Haj flights during the peak days of the season, and instead schedule them in a balanced manner to avoid congestion.

“Airlines should not wait for the last week of the season to operate their incoming Haj flights,” GACA said in a statement, adding: “They should also avoid operating a large number of outgoing Haj flights in the first week after the pilgrimage.”

Abdul Hameed Abalarry, director general of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, said more than 200,000 pilgrims have arrived so far on 850 flights from different parts of the Muslim world.

“We have made all preparations to receive the thousands of pilgrims, by employing adequate number of workers. We intend to provide the guests of God with best possible services,” the director general said.

KAIA will continue to receive Haj flights until the midnight Oct. 9 (Dul Hijjah 4), Abalarry said. The return Haj flights will start at 1 p.m. on Oct. 19 and end on Nov. 18.

Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, president of GACA, has approved punitive measures against airlines that violate Haj flight regulations. Haj flights that arrive at Saudi airports without prior permission would be seized.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/465665

24 September 2013

Saudi authorities providing Haj services are learning foreign languages, and Urdu in particular to better serve foreign pilgrims.

Urdu is the most-used language in Haj operations, as a large number of pilgrims come from South Asian countries.

Taibah University in Madinah is conducting regular language courses for officials involved in Haj operations for the sixth consecutive year. Urdu is a priority language even though English, French, Persian and Turkish are also being taught to bridge the gap between ethnic groups and Saudi officials.

Altaf Rahman bin Shallah, head of the Urdu language-training program at Taibah University, said that understanding Urdu makes agencies perform their duties more effectively. Language courses are offered to employees at agencies and ministries that are involved with Haj pilgrims, as well as some private agencies.

Urdu training, led by Basma bint Ahmed, is provided to women employees in the Prophet’s Mosque to help pilgrims.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/465661

25 September 2013

The government’s decision to reduce the number of domestic pilgrims this year by 50 percent has forced Haj service providers to double their charges in order to offset their losses, a senior official said.

Saad Al-Qurashi, chairman of the National Committee for Haj & Umrah, said the 50 percent reduction would have a negative impact on the revenues of Haj companies, who were informed about the cut last June.

Speaking to Arab News, he said the Haj Ministry has completed distribution of tents in Mina among the domestic Haj service providers charging SR1,500 to SR7,500 for a tent, depending on its closeness to Jamrat.

Companies charge different prices ranging between SR7,000 to SR20,000 on the basis of services they offer.

Al-Qurashi said that charges of hotels and furnished apartments near the Grand Mosque have fallen from SR2,800 to SR500 because of a 20 percent cut in foreign pilgrims and 50 percent cut in domestic Hajis.

Haj companies have closed down about 400 branch offices in various parts of the country and retrenched thousands of workers, he said. Al-Qurashi denied press reports about cancellation of Haj flights. “All domestic flights are fully booked for Haj,” he pointed out.

Al-Qurashi said there is a big decrease in the number of pilgrims allocated to licensed Haj companies.

“If a company was licensed to serve 2,000 last year, they will get only 700 this year,” he said. The increase in prices is likely to hike the number of illegal Hajis this year and Al-Qurashi said the number of such pilgrims could reach 500,000 this season.

The government has warned expat illegal Hajis they would be deported and would not be allowed to return for 10 years. The Passport Department said it would deploy female police officers to stop illegal women Hajis.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/465781

26 September 2013 - 21 Thul-Qedah 1434 H

MAKKAH — Emir of Makkah Prince Khaled Al-Faisal will inspect the government complex at Al-Awali neighborhood.

He will also inspect the offices of government departments that were relocated from Mina to the complex.

The emir will also head the Central Haj Committee meeting to finalize plans for this year’s Haj.

The emir will also inaugurate the seasonal activities of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques Affairs that will be held in the Royal Clock Tower next to the Grand Mosque. The activities will highlight the presidency’s dedication in serving pilgrims and facilitating their Haj.

In addition, Prince Khaled will inaugurate a workshop to raise awareness of pilgrims for maintaining the facilities and services offered by the government.

The activities will include lectures under the title: “Haj is a worship and civilized behavior.”

The emir will also review the plans and preparations of the presidency for this year.

The activities will additionally include an exhibition of the preparations of the presidency and its departments.

President of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sudais expressed his gratitude to the emir for his support for the presidency’s activities.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20130926181614

Thursday 26 September 2013

The black apparel (kiswa) covering the Holy Kaaba was folded three meters up off the ground on Tuesday night to prevent pilgrims from touching and damaging it during the Haj season, the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs said in a statement.

“The area has been covered by a white cloth, which is two meters high and 47 meters wide,” the statement said, adding that this is done just before the peak of the Haj season every year.

“We have done this as a precautionary measure to prevent people from tampering with the cover, as many people tend to touch the cover during tawaf (circumambulation around the Kaaba),” said Mohammed bin Abdullah Bajouda, director-general of the Kaaba Cover Factory.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/465872

 

''Serve pilgrims with a smile''

Prince Faisal tells officials

 

Thursday 26 September 2013

Saudi authorities have contracted a specialized security company to organize the boarding of pilgrims onto Mashaer Railway trains during this Haj season, said Saud bin Hamdan Al-Dikri, director of projects at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs.

“This is company is specialized in crowd management,” he said, adding that it would train Saudis in Haj security services.

The company has already recruited about 2,000 Saudis who speak languages other than Arabic for Haj duty. “It will provide intensive training for a month,” Al-Dikri said.

The newly trained Saudis will be deployed at Mashaer Railway stations at the holy sites beginning Oct. 12 when the railway begins operating its regular service.

Al-Dikri said the move was aimed at ensuring the safety and security of pilgrims who travel on the railway’s trains and preventing pilgrims who are not authorized to use them from boarding the carriages.

A stampede occurred at a railway station last year, where thousands of pilgrims without tickets tried to board the train.

A top government official says more than 150,000 ticketless and undocumented pilgrims rushed to the station, causing a stampede, while pilgrims with tickets and Haj permits waited for their turn to board.

The situation caused the suspension of trains for 90 minutes, resulting in a delay in the movement of pilgrims. Trains were forced to carry 680,000 pilgrims, going over the 500,000-people capacity, the official said.

This year, authorities have imposed a 25 percent cut in the number of pilgrims traveling by trains compared to last year.

“The ministry plans to reduce the capacity of trains to 377,000 pilgrims this year as part of its measures to avoid repeating travel delays and other issues that arose last year,” said another official.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/465873

26 September 2013

AMMAM — The Saudi customs department has secured 71 high-tech inspection devices to use at airports, Haj terminals, seaports and all other naval and land border crossings.

The department will also use police dogs and X-rays to check the pilgrims’ luggage for prohibited materials, said spokesman Eissa Al-Qudhaibi.

The Customs Department has completed all arrangements for this year’s Haj season and has reinforced its offices with a sufficient number of well-trained personnel.

Qudhaibi expected about 800,000 pilgrims to arrive via Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah on board more than 2,800 flights. He recalled that last year about 1.15 million pilgrims arrived via King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on board 4,800 flights.

Twenty women have been appointed to complement 50 other female customs officers and inspectors. “The female customs officers have been positioned at KAIA, the Madinah airport, the Jeddah Islamic Port and all the other naval and land inlets,” he said.

Qudhaibi said every year the customs department makes the operational Haj plan long before the advent of the season with a view to ensuring the guests of God with quick and comprehensive services.

According to him, the commodities usually confiscated by the customs officers every Haj season consist of medications and cosmetics of unknown origins, banned books, expired food and other materials the pilgrims bring to sell in Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah and the Holy Sites.

Saleh Al-Khilaiwi, director general of the customs department, reiterated that the department was keen to process the pilgrims’ luggage quickly to avoid any unnecessary delays.

He said the department has been providing its personnel with up-to-date training to qualify them and upgrade their performance. “Last year we trained a total of 8,432 staff members,” he said.

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index...20130926181612