Ibrahim Alawi Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Jeddah Governor Prince Mishal Bin Majed opened on Monday the special counters for women's immigration at King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah. As many as 74 Saudi women have been appointed to work at the special counters at KAIA. Women passengers can now process their passports through the service called ‘Hayyaki” (Welcoming you). Prince Mishal urged all officials and employees at the airport to extend the best services to all those who use the airport, including pilgrims, citizens and visitors. He called for guaranteeing comfort to passengers through smooth functioning of the immigration and other facilities of the Passport Directorate (Jawazat), the Saudi Press Agency reported. Briefing Prince Mishal on the functioning of the counter, Brig. Gen. Khalaf Al-Tuwairgi, director of Passport Department in Makkah region, said that the new service has been introduced to ensure the privacy of women in line with the teachings of the Islamic Shariah. “This initiative is also in conformity with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to strengthen the role of women in serving the nation,” he said, adding that the female passport officers have been trained in immigration procedures. Special counters for women have already been introduced at Riyadh's King Khaled International Airport. Last month, a new dress code was implemented for passports officers at immigration counters at the airports. They now wear the traditional thobe instead of military uniform. The national dress consists of the traditional thobe, ghutra (headscarf) and iqal (black head ribbon). The staff also have to wear black shoes and black socks and put on their badges. The decision has been implemented at first at the international airports of Riyadh, Jeddah, Madinah and Dammam before it is gradually introduced in all the Kingdom's air, sea and land entry points. Brig. Gen. Khalaf Al-Tuwairgi, director of Passport Department in Makkah region, Brig. Gen. Fahm Al-Bagami, director of the department for entry points at the Passports Directorate, and Col. Suleiman Al-Yousef, director of Passports at KAIA, Rafat Falamban, supervisor for women's counters, and other officials were present at the opening ceremony. Later, Prince Mishal toured the lounges of the airport. He was accompanied by Abdul Hameed Abal Ari, director general of KAIA, Muhammad Al-Ghamdi, director general of customs at the airport, and other officials.
