Second Wave Of Arrival Of Hajj Pilgrims Begins, Service Focus Shifts To Jeddah

The new phase of the 2025 Hajj service begins with the end of the arrival of the first batch of pilgrims at Amir Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Airport, Medina, and the opening of the second wave of arrivals through King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah.

The Head of Sector 3 of PPIH at Madinah Airport, Abdul Rohim Rahmat, said as many as 103,806 Hajj candidates from 266 groups had arrived in Medina during the period 2'17 May. Of that number, 22,359 people are elderly pilgrims.

"Alhamdulillah, the arrival process and departure of the last batch went smoothly. This is thanks to the synergy of all teams working optimally in the field," he said, quoted from ANTARA, Sunday, May 18.

Three airlines transport pilgrims to Medina: Garuda Indonesia (127 groups), Saudia Airlines (126 groups), and Lion Air (13 groups). Abdul admitted that there had been problems in the arrangement of transportation from the airport to the hotel, but it was overcome thanks to coordination with Syarikah and data integration of Siskohat.

The focus of service has now shifted to Jeddah, which on the same day began receiving the second wave of pilgrims. A total of 14 groups are scheduled to arrive on May 17, including the Padang (PDG 8) and Jakarta-Pondok Gede (JKG 37) groups which landed early.

The Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia in Jeddah, Yusron B. Ambary, welcomed the arrival of the first two groups. "Alhamdulillah, the congregation is in good health and immediately dispatched to Makkah to undergo Umrah," he said. He appealed to the congregation to maintain physical condition, drink more and drink, and not force sunnah worship.

The head of the Airport Daker, Abdul Basir, explained that transportation to Makkah was operated by a service company (syarikah) that had been given special identifications, in the form of ribbons and color stickers on suitcases since the embarkation. This marker is important, especially for a combined group that is served by more than one sharia.

According to him, the facilities at Jeddah Airport are more complete than Medina, including emergency health posts and special vehicles for the elderly and wheelchair users.

The 14 groups scheduled to arrive in Jeddah on May 17, 2025 are:

* PDG 8 (Padang)* JKG 37 & JKG 38 (Jakarta-Pondok Gede)* LOP 12 (Lombok)* BPN 7 (Balikpapan)* KNO 13 (Medan)* UPG 22 (Makassar)* BTH 15 & BTH 16 (Batam)* PLM 12 (Palembang)* SOC 50 & SOC 51 (Solo)* SUB 51 (Surabaya)* BDJ 7 (Banjarmasin)

The transfer of services to Jeddah marks a new challenge. Coordination between PPIH in the embarkation and officers in Saudi Arabia will be the key to the smooth running of the pilgrimage this year," concluded Abdul Basir.