Pilgrims, pack your backpacks! Saudia Group publishes its 2024 Schedule for those who intend to make the Hajj pilgrimage in June 2024.
Saudia Group announces its operational plan for Hajj Season 2024 in order to help transport pilgrims from around the world. It promises to streamline all procedures and provide top-notch services at various service locations.
Over 1.2 million seats have been allocated in its fleet of more than 150 aircraft. Saudia Group says that this initiative is in line with the directives of Saudi leadership, supported by collaboration with various entities involved in serving Hajj pilgrims.
The operational period for the national flag carrier during Hajj Season 2024, encompassing both inbound and outbound stages, spans 74 days starting from 9th May.
According to Saudia Hajj and Umrah CEO Amer Al Khushail, Saudia Group has proactively formed specialized teams distributed among performance monitoring, terminal operations, follow-up, and coordination with other sectors. Additionally, operational resources have been allocated across the lounges of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and an emergency plan has been developed in collaboration with relevant stakeholders. Furthermore, numerous virtual simulations have been conducted across both Jeddah and Madinah international airports.
Saudia Group will welcome Hajj pilgrims through five domestic airports, including Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Dammam, and Yanbu, with more than 11,000 frontline employees and aircraft maintenance technicians, ensuring smooth flow of movement at the airports as well as operational efficiency. Additionally, 120,000 pilgrims will be served through the “Makkah Route” initiative which is designed to streamline the immigration process for pilgrims to Makkah. Saudia will also continue its “Luggage First” service, and 270,000 bags will be handled as well as 240,000 Zamzam bottles.
“Saudia is honored 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,” says Al Khushail.
According to Al Khushail, 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. With a commitment to seamless communication, Saudia’s multilingual staff, proficient in more than 30 languages, ensure efficient service delivery at the highest standards. The airline also offers diverse meal options onboard, catering to all tastes,” says Al Khushail.
Saudia aircraft have been specially equipped, featuring screens that will display announcements of Miqat (a boundary for pilgrims to start intent for the performance of Ḥajj) and prayer times. These screens also offer hours of Islamic content aimed at educating pilgrims on rituals and Kingdom regulations, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
Notes from the editor: Saudia Group is one of the largest aviation conglomerates in the MENA region. The Group drives industry development with its 12 subsidiaries and strategic business units. Its most prominent subsidiary is Saudi Arabian Airlines “Saudia”, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia with a fleet of 140 aircraft and servicing more than 100 destinations to and from the Jeddah (JDH) and Riyadh (RUH) airports. Established in 1945, Saudia was recently awarded “World Class Airline 2024” for the third consecutive year at The APEX Official Airline Ratings™ awards. For more information on Saudia, please visit www.saudia.com.
