Jeddah Mission’s High-Speed Trains & Baggage-Free Hajj Transform Pilgrim Transit

Jeddah mission optimises logistics to ensure seamless Hajj experience for Indian pilgrims: CGI

By Sahil Pandey, Mina, May 25

Speaking from the tent city of Mina, Fahad Ahmed Suri, the Consul General of India (CGI) in Jeddah, detailed rigorous groundwork and a round-the-clock administrative setup at arrival terminals successfully streamlined the massive operational scale.

"We have an elaborate setup for every arrival. Right now in the pre-core Hajj period, we have welcomed our 122,518 Hajj Committee of India pilgrims flying through 422 flights," Suri told ANI, adding that 51,000 arrived in Madina and the remaining entered through Jeddah.

"Every movement was coordinated and choreographed really well with the airport authorities, airlines, baggage handling teams, and our ground teams," he added.

Highlighting the major logistical shifts executed by CGI Jeddah to elevate pilgrim convenience, Suri revealed that the mission has integrated Saudi Arabia's high-speed rail network into the transit blueprint for the very first time.

"This is the first year where we are transporting our pilgrims via high-speed train. Fifty per cent of our pilgrims between Madina and Makkah are using the facilities of the high-speed train, which has increased the convenience of transportation," the Consul General said.

To further eliminate standard airport bottlenecks, the mission executed a seamless "baggage-free movement" system. Under this initiative, arriving pilgrims immediately board transport to their accommodation without waiting at airport carousels.

"Our pilgrims move seamlessly to their accommodation places, be it in Madina or Makkah, and their baggage is seamlessly transported to them. So far, we have handled a quarter of a million baggage pieces of our Hajjis and very carefully, very scrupulously, transferred them to their respective accommodations," Suri explained.

The Consul General credited the success of these massive logistical arrangements to the real-time, seamless cooperation between the Indian Hajj Mission and Saudi government departments, particularly the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

Suri also noted that the mission's proactive coordination successfully prevented any loss of India's allocated quota of 175,025 slots (comprising 122,518 structural seats under the Hajj Committee and 52,507 under private operators) when last-minute dropouts occurred.

"Due to unforeseen situations, many Hajjis couldn't make it, so we worked very closely with the Saudi administration to ensure that we do not lose any of our seats. All those Hajjis were replaced with Hajjis from the waiting list of the Hajj Committee of India. The replacement visas were issued at very short notice," he stated, praising the efficiency of the digital visa process.

As pilgrims completed their timely transit into Mina on the eighth day of the Islamic month, ahead of moving to Arafat, Suri urged the Indian diaspora to fully delegate their administrative anxieties to the consulate staff.

"Our advice would be that they do not worry about anything else; they concentrate on their Hajj, but they do take care of themselves. When they embark on their journey from India, I think they should leave all the logistical or any other worries that they may have to us to resolve... and utilise the services that we have put in place for them here," he stated.

Suri concluded by placing the Hajj coordination within the larger framework of India-Saudi strategic ties, noting that the logistical synergy matches the depth of the overall relationship.

"Saudi Arabia is an important country for India, and it is in our extended neighbourhood. One of the key pillars is, of course, the people-to-people dimension. We have 2.7 million Indians residing in the Kingdom, and 1.2 million reside in the Western region, where most Hajj rituals are performed. Our cooperation within the Hajj ecosystem is in sync with the overall relationship," he said.

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Muslims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

It is one of the Five Pillars of Islam and is considered a compulsory religious obligation for every Muslim who is physically and financially able to undertake the journey at least once in their life.

The other four pillars include Shahada (faith declaration), Salah (daily prayer), Zakat (almsgiving), and Sawm (fasting in Ramadan).

— ANI