Charter airline boom after major rise in Umrah pilgrims continues into Ramadan

According to a report issued by the ministry, Iranian pilgrims received the largest number of Umrah visas, followed by Egyptians, Pakistanis and Turks.

“As many as 3,855,564 pilgrims have arrived in Madinah since the beginning of the Umrah season this year,” the report said. “By next month, 1,330,636 more Umrah pilgrims are expected to arrive,” it added.

King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah has so far received 2.4 million pilgrims during this Umrah season, showing an increase of 109 percent compared to last year. The pilgrims arrived on a total of 14,200 flights.

“There was a 62 percent increase in the number of Umrah flights compared to last year,” said an official statement issued by the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).

Faisal Al-Sugair, president of GACA, visited the airport last week to inspect the arrangements made for receiving the growing numbers of Umrah pilgrims, especially during the holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile the long-awaited contract award for the $2.2bn development of Madinah airport is expected to be confirmed within the next few weeks.

Eight international consortia have bid on the contract with an announcement originally expected in February this year. An emergency terminal has been opened at the airport to deal with the rising numbers,

The companies bidding for the contract include multinationals from the US, Canada, France, Spain, Malaysia, India, Korea and Turkey in addition to Arab companies from the UAE and Lebanon. GACA has appointed the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank as the project’s financial consultant.

Speaking earlier this year GACA spokesman Khaled Al-Khaibari, said Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Airport would be the first international airport in the Kingdom to be owned by the private sector. He said the participation of private companies would improve efficiency and help implement projects quickly at a lower cost.

The Madinah airport, established in 1972, is located 15 km away from the city centre. The new expansion work is significant in order to accommodate growing numbers of passengers and reduce pressure on King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the main gateway for pilgrims.

GACA set out a master plan for the project with the help of a specialized consultant. The project includes  construction of a second runway as well as a new passenger lounge covering an area of 256,000 square meters, renovation of the existing runway and the construction of new passenger terminals with air bridges, accessories and parking areas for widebody aircraft.

King Abdullah announced the government’s decision to upgrade the Madinah airport to international status in June 2006 when he visited the holy city soon after his ascension to the throne. The decision was taken because of Madinah’s significant position in the Islamic world and the growing number of pilgrims who visit the city every year.

The aim is to increase the airport’s annual capacity to 12 million passengers and be fully operational by 2019.

 HM King Abdullah inspects the plans for the new airport - a decision on the partner company is expected imminently