Saudi Arabian Airlines has confirmed that an extra 14 large planes have been chartered to transport pilgrims during the upcoming Umrah season. The announcement comes as it was revealed that 23 planes carrying 8,000 passengers from Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE have already touched down. Executive Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines at King Abdulaziz International Airport, Issam Fuad Noor said the move comes as part of a plan to transport 400,000 Umrah pilgrims to and from Asia between Rabi' Al-Awwal 1st, 1433H and Shawwal, 1433H. He said: “The pilgrims will arrive at Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Madina and depart from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Ramadan 20, 1433H.” He also confirmed that the airline is moving towards markets in Cairo, Istanbul, Khartoum, Lebanon, Malaysia and Indonesia so as to transport 1.5 million pilgrims to and from the country. Noor said: “The directives of the Director General of the corporation, Khaled Almolhem, are to make the Umrah season a success, as is the case every year.” He also insisted the airline is ready to cope with the extra demand during the mid-year school vacation, which begins next week. “Extra flights will run between Jeddah, Riyadh and Dubai, and 150 extra employees will serve passengers at the Southern Terminal at KAIA in Jeddah. There are also plans to make use of some of the international stations, like the stations in Europe, on which there is great pressure.” The Director General of the new King Abdulaziz International Airport Abdul Hameed Abal Ariy told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that a number of terminals are on standby to receive pilgrim's flights from the month of Rabi' Al-Awwal until Sha'ban. “The plans are being revised continuously. Umrah pilgrims will only be allowed to enter the terminals once they have confirmed booking and airtickets. This is to prevent huge crowding which occurred last year.” __
