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Saudia to carry 818,000 Haj pilgrims

September 17, 2014

Jeddah, Sep 17: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) will carry nearly 818,000 pilgrims coming for Haj this year from different parts of the world, said Saleh bin Nasser Al-Jasser, director general of the Kingdom’s flag carrier.

Mina-general

Saudia will carry 785,984 pilgrims from 72 international airports including 470,770 from Asia, 118,951 from the Middle East and Gulf, 105,462 from Europe and America, 90,801 from Africa in addition to 32,000 from Saudi cities.

“We have opened four new markets this year: Sudan, Sweden, Denmark and Norway,” Al-Jasser said. The first Saudia flight carrying Haj pilgrims arrived from the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka.

“We’ll transport pilgrims from all over the world to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed International Airport in Madinah,” he said, adding that Saudia would carry 145,000 pilgrims to Madinah airport.

He said Saudia would make use of its newly purchased fleet to transport the pilgrims. “We have also rented 29 aircraft with 11,600 seats to meet the growing demand during the Haj season,” he said.

Saudia has deployed an adequate number of employees at all stations to meet the requirements of the Haj traffic. “We have also appointed employees from Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh at the Jeddah and Madinah airports to meet passengers’ needs,” Al-Jasser said.

The airline has made arrangements for transporting Zamzam water cans for pilgrims on returning empty flights to India, Indonesia and Malaysia. It has also signed contracts with hotels to accommodate stranded pilgrims.

“We have set out an alternative plan, depending on the sighting of the new moon,” he explained.

Spelling out the airline’s special services, he said it includes the distribution of boarding passes in advance at ports of embarkation for return journeys.

“This will give pilgrims peace of mind and enable them to concentrate on prayers and worship instead of visiting the airline’s offices to make bookings and get boarding passes,” he added.

Saudia has also made arrangements for the distribution of meals that suit the taste of pilgrims from different countries on its Haj flights. “We have appointed airhostesses who can speak the language of the pilgrims,” Al-Jasser said.

The airline will also screen Haj-related documentaries during the journey. Pilgrims from Indonesia and Malaysia are given city baggage check-in services in Jeddah while Indian and Iranian pilgrims are given similar services in Makkah.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kuwait will allow citizens and residents to travel to and from the country, starting August 1, the government communication center tweeted on early Thursday, citing a cabinet decision.

The decision excludes residents coming from Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal.

Last month, Kuwait announced it would partially resume commercial flights from August, but does not expect to reach full capacity until a year later, as its aviation sector gradually recovers from a suspension sparked by the Covid-19 crisis.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Dubai, May 21: Around 10,000 Iranian health workers have been infected with the new coronavirus, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted a deputy health minister as saying on Thursday.

Health services are stretched thin in Iran, the Middle East country hardest hit by the respiratory pandemic, with 7,249 deaths and a total of 129,341 infections. The Health Ministry said in April that over 100 health workers had died of COVID-19.

No more details on infections among health workers were immediately available.

Earlier on Thursday, Health Minister Saeed Namaki appealed to Iranians to avoid travelling during the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday later this month to avoid the risk of a new surge of coronavirus infections, state TV reported.

Iranians often travel to different cities around the country to mark the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, something Namaki said could lead to a disregard of social distancing rules and a fresh outbreak of COVID-19.

"I am urging you not to travel during the Eid. Definitely, such trips mean new cases of infection...People should not travel to and from those high-risk red areas," Namaki was quoted by state television as saying.

"Some 90% of the population in many areas has not yet contracted the disease. In the case of a new outbreak, it will be very difficult for me and my colleagues to control it."

A report by parliament's research centre suggested that the actual tally of infections and deaths in Iran might be almost twice that announced by the health ministry.

However, worried that measures to limit public activities could wreck an economy which has already been battered by U.S. sanctions, the government has been easing most restrictions on normal life in late April.

Infected cases have been on a rising trajectory for the past two weeks. However, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran was close to curbing the outbreak.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Riyadh, Apr 24: As many as eleven Indian nationals have died due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

"As per information available with the Embassy as of April 22, eleven Indian nationals (four in Madinah, three in Makkah, two in Jeddah, one in Riyadh and one in Dammam) have passed away due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said in a press release on Wednesday.

It urged the Indian community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Embassy also reiterates the need for the community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours that may create panic. It is important that social media is not used to disseminate false messages and spread hatred along communal lines that can vitiate the atmosphere," the Embassy said.

"As stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking, and our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," it said.

Moreover, several measures on the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need are being implemented across the Kingdom.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ausaf Sayeed on April 22 had interacted with Indian community volunteers from the smaller towns all across the Kingdom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 situation, and evaluate the implementation of various measures to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals.

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