MAKKAH: Saudi Arabia welcomes 54,453 haj pilgrims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia via the Makkah Route, an initiative that saw pilgrims completed their travel, customs and visa procedures at home before departing to the Holy Land, reported Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The news agency reported that the pilgrims arrived during the period of July 4 to 14, on board 135 flights.
Quoting Saudi Directorate General of Passports, the report said that 20,261 pilgrims arrived at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, while the Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, received 34,192 pilgrims.
On Sunday (July 14), Bernama reported a total 9,363 Malaysian pilgrims have already arrived here and in Madinah as of Saturday (July 13).
According to the Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), of the total, 4,653 haj pilgrims were here while other 4,710 pilgrims were in Madinah, and they made up 31 per cent of the 30,200 haj pilgrims from Malaysia this year. – Bernama