Riyadh, May 13, 2024, Since its establishment, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has prioritized the security and service of millions of pilgrims and visitors from within and outside the country. The Kingdom has harnessed its human, material, and technical resources to ensure that pilgrims have a comfortable and reassuring experience while performing their rituals, from the moment they arrive until they leave the country safely and securely.
On April 25th, 2016, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, launched the Kingdom's Vision 2030. This initiative aims to serve more pilgrims and provide them with high-quality services.
In 2017, the Saudi Ministry of Interior affirmed the Kingdom's leadership in serving the Two Holy Mosques and their visitors. To support this vision, the Ministry launched the Makkah Route Initiative, which is part of the Pilgrim Experience Program under the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The Makkah Route Initiative aims to provide high-quality services for pilgrims by completing their procedures in their own countries efficiently, smoothly, and seamlessly, equipped with the latest technologies, and in cooperation and integration between partner government agencies.
The Ministry of Interior has continued to implement the Makkah Route Initiative in the years 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2023 to serve the beneficiaries of the initiative in their countries. The initiative aims to facilitate their arrival in the Kingdom so that they can perform their pilgrimage with ease and reassurance. The ministry works in cooperation and integration with partner agencies to enhance the feeling of pride and religious and national responsibility among the work system and celebrate pilgrims from the moment they leave their countries until they arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah.
This year --1445 H / 2024 CE -- the Saudi Ministry of Interior and its partners from the ministries of foreign affairs, Hajj and Umrah, health, and media, the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Zakat Authority, the Saudi Data and AI Authority, and the General Directorate of Passports continue to implement the Makkah Route Initiative and provide its services to the pilgrims in the beneficiary countries at their country's airports. The initiative includes receiving pilgrims, taking their biometrics, issuing Hajj visas, and coding their luggage electronically.
In the Kingdom, the Makkah Route Initiative has allocated a working system from partner agencies and volunteers to receive arriving pilgrims from the beneficiary countries. The initiative allocates arrival paths for pilgrims and special buses to transport them and their luggage to their residences in Makkah and Madinah. Pilgrims are accompanied by welcome, hospitality, security, and safety in a religious journey and experience that will remain in their memory for many years.