TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At least 390 Indonesian hajj pilgrims of the first flight batch arrived in Medina, Saudi Arabia, today, May 24, 2023. The arrival of the other 16 flight batches will follow on the same day.

The first flight batch landed at Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Airport in Madinah at around 6:20 local time. Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz Ahmad and Saudi Arabian Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mohammed Abdurrahman Al-Bijawi welcomed them.

Indonesia dispatched the highest number of Hajj pilgrims in history this year, 1444 Hijri, with a total of 229,000 pilgrims after receiving an additional quota of 8,000.

“[The quotas] prove the close relationship between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, which has existed for a long time and is getting stronger,” Aziz said at Madinah International Airport, in a written statement received in Jakarta.

The first flight batch arrived using a Garuda Indonesia plane and is under the Fast Track (Makkah Road) program, in which the immigration process was taken care of in Indonesia or Soekarno-Hatta Airport, instead of in Saudi Arabia (pre-clearance).

The Makkah Road program was launched in 2019 and has been implemented in five countries namely Indonesia, Pakistan, Morocco, Malaysia, and Bangladesh.

Aziz as the coordinator of the Hajj pilgrimage committee (PPIH) in Saudi Arabia called on all officers to provide the best service to pilgrims. Moreover, there are a lot of congregations in the elderly category or aged over 65 years.

In Madinah, Hajj pilgrims will occupy Grand Plaza Badr Al Maqam Hotel in Sector 1 Daker Medina, which is located near the forecourt of the Nabawi Mosque.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

Editor's Choice: Indonesian Health Ministry Sends Hajj Health Officers to Saudi Arabia

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News