The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Ensures Mecca Route Makes the Departure of Hajj Candidates More Organized

Illustration: Indonesian prospective pilgrims are greeted upon arrival in Madinah. ANTARA/HO-Kemenhaj

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (Kemenhaj) ensures that the departure process of Indonesian prospective pilgrims for the year 1447 Hijriah/2026 is becoming more organized and efficient through the implementation of the Mecca Route or fast immigration track.

"We highly appreciate the implementation of the Mecca Route service, which makes it easier for Indonesian pilgrims," said the Minister of Hajj and Umrah (Menhaj) Mochamad Irfan Yusuf, quoted by ANTARA, Friday, April 24.

Since the start of the Hajj operation on April 22, 2026, Indonesian prospective pilgrims have begun to be sent through a number of embarkations that have implemented the Mecca Route service, namely Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Jakarta), Adi Soemarmo Airport (Solo), Juanda Airport (Surabaya), and Sultan Hasanuddin Airport (Makassar).

This departure is part of an integrated service scheme that allows all immigration and Hajj administration processes to be completed from the country.

Upon arrival in Madinah, he said, pilgrims were immediately directed to accommodation without having to go through the re-immigration process. This is one of the main advantages of the initiative, which is designed to provide maximum comfort for pilgrims from departure to arrival in the Holy Land.

The Mecca Route includes various services, ranging from biometric recording, issuance of electronic Hajj visas, health checks, to immigration processes carried out at the departure airport.

In addition to this, the jamaah's luggage has been arranged and sent directly to their place of stay in Saudi Arabia according to the transportation and accommodation arrangements.

"This integrated process from the country of origin not only accelerates services, but also provides comfort and certainty for pilgrims upon arrival in the Holy Land. This is a tangible manifestation of a joint commitment to improving the quality of the implementation of the hajj," said MenhajIrfan.

He views service innovation, such as the Mecca Route, as an important part of the transformation of the Indonesian Hajj ecosystem, which continues to be developed by the Ministry of Religion.

"We want to ensure that every worshipper gets a better, more orderly, and more humane worship experience," said MenhajIrfan.

The service is the result of cross-ministry and agency collaboration in Saudi Arabia, including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, as well as a number of other related authorities.

Since its launch in 2017, this program has served more than 1.25 million Hajj participants from various countries.

Previously, the Indonesian government hoped that the Mecca Route fast track service could be implemented at all embarkations in Indonesia because it helped speed up the immigration process for Indonesian prospective pilgrims upon arrival in the Holy Land.

The Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador (LBBP) of the Republic of Indonesia to Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Ahmad, said that the new fast track service is currently being applied to some prospective pilgrims. However, in the future, the government hopes that Indonesian prospective pilgrims can experience similar facilities.

"Now maybe it's still half, in the future we hope all the pilgrims can experience this process," he said.