20,475 Hajj Pilgrims Depart To Saudi Arabia From Soetta Airport, Mostly From West Java

The atmosphere of the Hajj flight service at Soekarno-Hatta Airport. (Photo: AP II Doc)

JAKARTA - PT Angkasa Pura II (Persero) conveyed that the hajj flights were running smoothly at five AP II airports designated as departure embarkations for hajj pilgrims 1443 Hijri/2022.

AP II President Director Muhammad Awaluddin said all stakeholders at the airport continued to coordinate to ensure the 2022 hajj flights could run smoothly.

"The implementation of the 2022 hajj transportation is the first in the last two years. Therefore, all stakeholders at Soekarno-Hatta Airport are coordinating closely so that the implementation of the 2022 hajj transportation runs well, including supporting the Makkah Road initiative," Muhammad Awaluddin said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, June 22.

Awaluddin explained that AP II airports designated as embarkation for hajj departures were Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Tangerang), Kualanamu Airport (Deli Serdang), Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport (Palembang), Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport (Aceh) and Minangkabau Airport (Padang). .

According to him, Soekarno-Hatta Airport is the airport that serves the most departures for Hajj pilgrims.

In the period 4-21 June 2022, as many as 79 hajj flights from Soekarno-Hatta Airport have been dispatched to deliver 20,475 hajj pilgrims to the Holy Land, where that number has reached 70 percent of the total 29,221 hajj pilgrims planned to depart from Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Most of the pilgrims who went to the Holy Land via Soekarno-Hatta Airport came from West Java with 9,824 pilgrims, then Banten with 3,923 pilgrims, then DKI Jakarta with 3,523 pilgrims and Lampung with 3,205 pilgrims.

Furthermore, Awaluddin said, Soekarno-Hatta Airport is the only airport in Indonesia with Makkah Road facilities which is an initiative of the governments of Saudi Arabia and Indonesia to facilitate the immigration process for Indonesian pilgrims to enter Saudi Arabia.

Through the Makkah Road initiative, which is also known as the Saudi Arabian immigration fast track, pilgrims can undergo a Saudi Arabian immigration pre-clearance process at Soekarno-Hatta Airport before departing by plane to the Holy Land.

This makes it easier for pilgrims when they arrive at Jeddah or Medina airports to be able to enter Saudi Arabia.

"In supporting the Makkah Road initiative, AP II has prepared all the facilities needed in Terminal 2, including with stakeholders determining the departure flow of hajj pilgrims starting from the hajj dormitory, then heading to the Makkah Road area, to boarding the plane," he said.

The facilities prepared by AP II include the Central Corridor Terminal 2 area with a capacity of around 900-1,000 people as a waiting area (holding area) for pilgrims, before heading to another room equipped with 15 Saudi Arabian immigration counters to process Saudi Arabian immigration pre-clearance through the Makkah Road scheme. .

Through the 15 Saudi Arabian immigration counters, it is estimated that each pilgrim will pre-clearance immigration within 60 seconds.

Around the area where the Makkah Road scheme is being implemented, AP II has also prepared, among other things, various public facilities that can be used for the needs of pilgrims, including 2 temporary prayer rooms in the holding area and a prayer room in the boarding lounge area.

He added that the Makkah Road initiative could be implemented well at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

"The implementation of the Makkah Road initiative is part of the Hajj flight service for Hajj pilgrims, and we hope to add convenience, especially regarding the Saudi Arabian immigration process," he concluded.