Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has allocated specialised reception lounges at Jeddah and Madinah airports for pilgrims participating in the Makkah Route Initiative for the 2026 Hajj season.

As part of the Pilgrim Experience Programme under Saudi Vision 2030, GACA is utilising fully equipped terminals and advanced scheduling to ensure professional traffic flow and high service standards, reported SPA.

In coordination with public and private sector partners, GACA is leveraging the latest technologies to facilitate the direct transport of luggage to pilgrims' accommodations, effectively eliminating wait times at airport carousels.

Now in its eighth year, the initiative serves 10 countries—Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Türkiye, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, the Maldives, and Brunei Darussalam—across 17 international airports.

This integrated effort involves the Ministry of Interior and multiple government agencies, including the ministries of foreign affairs, health, Hajj and Umrah, and media, along with GACA, the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the General Authority for Awqaf, the Pilgrim Experience Programme, and the General Directorate of Passports, in integration with the digital partner stc group.