Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Saudi Arabian Airlines kicked off its Haj operations this year with the first flight landing at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah on Monday morning carrying 450 Bangladeshi pilgrims from Dhaka. An airline source said the pilgrims were received at the airport by the Saudi Airlines staff led by its director general Saleh Al-Jasser. “The pilgrims were presented gifts and souvenirs. The Ministry of Haj had made arrangements for their transport to Makkah," the source said. The airline had finalized its operation plan for this year's Haj immediately after the last season in cooperation with several other agencies, said the source. He said the airline had reached an agreement with the General Authority for Civil Aviation to increase the number of pilgrims it would transport this season. “The airline leased 22 airplanes with a total capacity of 8,600 seats to transport the pilgrims," he said, adding that the company would not compromise on safety and quality of services while the volume of traffic increased. The passengers will have their luggage ready for pickup as soon as they reach the terminal building, said the source. The airline has deployed enough numbers of ground personnel to assist pilgrims and respond to their inquiries. “The airline hired Malaysian, Indonesian, Indian and Bangladeshi staff to help pilgrims from the same nationalities as it gives priority to the comfort of the pilgrims by addressing culture-sensitive issues,” said the source. The source also said the ministry thought of offering additional services to the pilgrims, in addition to flight arrangements. “Each pilgrim will be presented two bottles of Zamzam water on their arrival," the source said.
