For Hajj Pilgrims' Safety, Ajyad Terminal Implements Open-Close Scheme

MAKKAH - The Ajyad Terminal in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, has implemented a door open-close system to guarantee the security of Hajj pilgrims. “Every time Indonesian Hajj pilgrims are returning from the Masjidil Haram for obligatory prayers, especially Isha, Subuh, and Friday prayers, the Ajyad Terminal operates with a door open-close system,” said the Head of Transportation for the Hajj Organising Officers (PPIH) in Saudi Arabia from the Makkah Daker, Syarif Rahman, on Saturday night (9/5/2026). This policy for regulating pilgrim flow stems from a thorough evaluation. According to him, operations at the terminal in previous Hajj seasons were not supported by infrastructure such as physical separators between pedestrian areas and bus lanes. “In previous years, there were no fences separating the pilgrim corridor from the buses, so pilgrims could board buses directly but it was disorderly,” he recalled. As a solution, the Ajyad Terminal now features dedicated pedestrian corridors and official access doors to the prayer bus area. Movement management is now handled meticulously. “We arrange the buses according to route number sequence, and only then do we allow pilgrims to board,” Syarif emphasised. When the capacity of all waiting buses is fully loaded, officers temporarily halt the pilgrim flow. “When all the buses are full and dispatched, the doors are closed so pilgrims wait briefly until empty ones arrive and are arranged again,” he explained. Unfortunately, this waiting pause mechanism for safety is often misunderstood. Some pilgrims feel the access doors are deliberately closed for excessively long periods. To alleviate panic during busy hours, the PPIH requests full support from group leaders, delegations, and kloter heads to proactively educate their members to remain calm while queuing. The duration for dispersing the queues is considered highly efficient, as evidenced by direct observations from the Hajj Media Centre team in the field. The post-Isha prayer pilgrim evacuation process can be completed in less than an hour. “I observed that the Isha prayer unloading earlier took 58 minutes net for all pilgrims in Misfalah,” Syarif assured. Moving forward, the PPIH is committed to continuously refining operational strategies. Preventive steps, such as synchronising pilgrim return schedules from Masjidil Haram to avoid simultaneous piling up, continue to be coordinated with ibadah guidance officers and related sectors. “We will try to have two doors hopefully opened so that order can be maintained,” he concluded.