Transfer of pilgrims between the Holy Places (two million and one hundred thousand) via scheduled trip during Hajj, via 17,983 buses.
GaStat: The Kingdom has tasked 38,000 employees with transport, mail, shipping, and logistics services for Hajj pilgrims.
Transport, shipping, mail, logistics and logistics services in general are five of the most important services provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pilgrims, and greatly facilitate the pilgrimage. The Kingdom has deployed 38,750 employees, working in seven specialized sectors to provide air and land transport, mail, shipping, and logistics services. This is according to the General Authority for Statistics’ numbers on the pilgrimage 1440 AH season, published on its official website on Wednesday 6 Dhu al-Hijjah 1440 AH.
Air transport, supervised by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, sees an expected total of 14,955 international and domestic flights for pilgrims. There are 8,209 flights to and from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. There are 8,209 transporting pilgrims domestically and internationally to and from Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina. 1435 employees are at the Jeddah airport, 840 at the Medina airport, working around the clock starting from the first of Dhu al-Qidah to provide an integrated system of services for pilgrims arriving by air. Work will continue until the middle of the next Muharram, including services provided at airports: To maintain the safety of arriving passengers, regulate the movement of aircraft, and monitor the performance of technical and electrical systems within airports, an addition to supervising the arrival and receipt of luggage and maintain cleanliness of airport facilities. The Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah receives approximately 48,000 pilgrims daily.
The complex of halls dedicated for pilgrims accommodates 3800 pilgrims per hour arriving, and 3500 pilgrims in departure, 12,000 passengers in areas outside the terminal; the modern halls accommodate 91,000 arrivals and 84,000 departures per day. They also can accommodate 312 flights at an average of 13 flights per hour.
Sea transport is overseen by the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). It employs 292 employees in Jeddah Islamic Port to provide facilities for the arrival of pilgrims, reduce the procedure completion time, prepare facilities for the service and reception of pilgrims from the first moment of arrival at the port until their departure. The port started receiving pilgrims arriving by sea from mid-Dhu al-Qidah and lasts until the fourth of Dhu al-Hijjah.
In regards to buses between the Kaaba and Holy Places, there are 2,100,000 trips via 17,983 buses during Hajj. There are 34,234 employees, drivers, supervisors handling bus transfers from the General Cars Syndicate and the Supreme Authority for the Control of Pilgrim Transport, which is working to establish a regulation to ensure the responsibility for the safety of vehicles used to transport pilgrims, control their movements, ensure that company owners sign ensuring the validity of their work buses, insure all buses, ensuring that companies' buses undergo periodic technical maintenance at the allocated stations, conduct field trips to to inspect buses passing approved checkpoints, operate a system for registration of buses and violations, and all the bus data adopted, including: Type of bus, license number, structure number, company affiliation, follow-up of bus operation at airports, port and road breaks, guidance and promotion centers, support centers, following-up the transport of pilgrims between Mecca and Medina and Jeddah, monitoring bus breakdowns, accidents—as soon as they occur—and coordinate with competent authorities to ensure the speedy completion of procedures, and to ensure the availability and adequacy of the signs indicating the cities of Hajj, as well as the availability of a guide for each bus, and coordination with specialists in guiding buses.
In regards to transporting pilgrims between Medina and Mecca, the Haramain high-speed railway
sees five daily trips to Mecca and five return trips to Medina; the train includes 4 stations with a total workforce of 456 male and female staff working throughout the year.
Regarding logistics (courier, shipping, warehousing and logistics) provided to pilgrims, 494 employees of Saudi Post work in 61 post offices in Mecca, Medina, and the Holy Places, with the support of 40 cars and 72 motorcycles. The system operates around the clock Hajj. Postal services include: The “Hajj Packages” service, which seeks to limit extra weight that pilgrims are forced to carry. The services offered to pilgrims also include Hady & Adah in Hajj in cooperation with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Project For Utilization Of Hady & Adah through points of sale in all post offices spread across the Kingdom or at temporary stalls in Mecca, Medina, and the Holy Places. A total of 41,927 parcels were sent and received during the last pilgrimage to and from Mecca.
For more details of the statistics of the services provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pilgrims, the General Authority for Statistics provided many details through the Hajj statistics register for 1440 AH, through its official website at www.stats.gov.sa [1]