The first batch of Pakistani pilgrims who benefited from the Makkah Route Initiative arrived on Thursday at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah. The launch of the Makkah Route Initiative in Pakistan for 2022, in addition to Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh, comes as a continuation of the efforts by Saudi Arabia in facilitating Hajj, and the keenness of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the Crown Prince to enhance the comfort of visitors to the holy cities. The Makkah Route Initiative, one of the programs in the Kingdom's Vision 2030, aims to complete the procedures for the pilgrims from their countries of origin, starting with issuing the visa electronically and taking the fingerprint, and the completion of passport procedures at the departure airport after verifying the health requirements, in addition to the luggage coding and sorting according to transportation and housing arrangements in the Kingdom. Upon their arrival, the pilgrims move directly to buses waiting to take them to their places of residence in Makkah or Madinah along designated paths. The service agencies will deliver their luggage to their place of residence. It is one of several initiatives to serve the pilgrims and holy sites' visitors. — SPA
