Directorate General of Immigration Expands Mecca Route Services to Makassar

The expansion of the Mecca Route to Makassar is a strategic effort to ensure that more Indonesian pilgrims experience the ease of immigration processes right from home soil. Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Directorate General of Immigration, Ministry of Immigration and Community Corrections, is expanding the scope of Mecca Route services to Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar, South Sulawesi. The advance immigration check service for Indonesian prospective hajj pilgrims is the result of cooperation between the Indonesian and Saudi Arabian governments, previously available at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten, Juanda Airport in Surabaya, and Adi Soemarmo Airport in Solo. “The expansion of the Mecca Route to Makassar is a strategic effort to ensure that more Indonesian pilgrims experience the ease of immigration processes right from home soil,” said Director General of Immigration Hendarsam Marantoko in Jakarta on Thursday. The Mecca Route involves a pre-clearance immigration process conducted directly by Saudi Immigration officers at Indonesian departure airports. The Mecca Route scheme serves a total of 221,000 prospective hajj pilgrims across Indonesia. Hendarsam explained that the main benefit of the Mecca Route is to cut down on time and procedures, where pilgrims no longer need to undergo passport and visa checks upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, allowing them to focus directly on performing their worship. He emphasised that the presence of the Mecca Route in Makassar is an effort by both governments to improve the quality of hajj services, considering that the number of Indonesian prospective hajj pilgrims reaches a quarter of a million. “We want to reduce bureaucracy so that pilgrims can prepare themselves more calmly for the journey to the Holy Land,” said Hendarsam. The first flight for prospective hajj pilgrims from Makassar took place on Wednesday (14/4) in the early hours, en route to Madinah, also marking the beginning of this year’s hajj embarkation operations.