JEDDAH — King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) of Jeddah announced that it is now allowed for the Hajj pilgrims, who are returning to their countries, to carry Zamzam water on board the international flights. KAIA noted that the pilgrim is allowed to purchase only one five-liter Zamzam water bottle through one of the points of sale at the airport premises. The airport authorities have clarified that it has allocated a separate path for Zamzam water, and it is not allowed to carry Zamzam within the checked-in baggage. The authorities also alerted that, in the coming phase, the airport is preparing to broadcast many awareness and educational messages through all media platforms so as to disseminate them among the pilgrims at their places of residence in Makkah. KAIA aims, through this initiative, to deliver information to pilgrims about all the necessary instructions with regard to handling and shipment of baggage at the airport. The airport authorities have stated that they will publish the information through newspapers and e-newspapers, and social media platforms, as well as via text messages regarding baggage shipment and the most important tips related to it, and awareness messages with regard to shipment of Zamzam water. It has also stressed that it will translate the contents and awareness messages to ensure that the information has reached all pilgrims from different countries. It is noteworthy that KAIA has launched an awareness campaign as part of the "Your service is our honor" initiative which was launched by Airports Holding Company across all Saudi airports, in conjunction with the Hajj season and the summer vacation. The campaign launched by KAIA included several awareness and educational messages about the ways to facilitate the shipment of luggage during the return trip, as it indicated that it is necessary to ensure the permissible weight of luggage as per the travel ticket, and not to put any liquids inside it, or tie the bags with ropes that may disrupt the shipment of baggage. The airport contributes, through its operational plan, and in cooperation with government, security and operational agencies inside the airport, to facilitate the process of transporting and shipping luggage during the departure phase of passengers to ensure smoothness and organizing the work within the airport halls, which will help in accelerating the procedures for grouping pilgrims at the departure phase.
