PPIH arranges Hajj pilgrims by group on airport buses for better organisation

Madinah (ANTARA) - Saudi Arabia’s Hajj Organising Committee (PPIH) has established regulations on the number of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims in bus fleets upon arrival at the airport to align with their groups, ensuring more organised and integrated services.

The Head of the Airport Work Area (Daker) for PPIH Saudi Arabia, Abdul Basir, in Madinah on Thursday, stated that the group scheme is implemented to provide pilgrims with maximum comfort, both during travel and while performing the series of Hajj rituals in the Holy Land.

“If the groups are organised from the start, then disembarking from the plane, exiting the gate, and boarding the bus will be more orderly and swift,” said Abdul Basir.

With the increasingly dense flow of 2026 Hajj pilgrim arrivals at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport (AMAA) in Madinah, he noted that pilgrims are prone to separation, making discipline in staying within one group highly necessary.

“It is hoped that when about to exit the airport gate, they have already arranged their groups, so upon exiting, they are in order by group,” said Abdul Basir.

He further emphasised the importance of applying the group scheme to land transportation services. His team has instructed field personnel to arrange for each bus to be filled with pilgrims from the same group.

For information, one group of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims typically consists of 40 people, while Saudi authorities set the bus service capacity at 45 people.

“Regarding this capacity, we will coordinate further with the transportation authorities,” he said.

“There were many smiles and greetings; the officers also guided us to stay orderly. The time from the airport rest area to boarding the bus was also quite short,” said Ahmad.

According to him, limiting passengers in the bus according to group size makes the journey more conducive.

“The available bus capacity could actually hold around 50 pilgrims, but it’s limited by group. This is much better, so we can be comfortable. The vehicles are also good,” said Ahmad Firia.