Three inaugural groups of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Three inaugural flight groups (kloter) of Indonesian prospective Hajj pilgrims arrived in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday, with services proceeding orderly and smoothly in the 1447 Hijriah/2026 CE Hajj operations.
Kloter 1 from Yogyakarta Embarkation (YIA) with 360 people arrived at 06.20 Saudi Arabia Time (WAS), followed by Kloter 1 from Jakarta-Pondok Gede Embarkation (JKG) with 391 people at 06.50 WAS, and Kloter 1 from Kualanamu Embarkation (KNO) at 10.00 WAS.
“Alhamdulillah, we express our thanks to the Saudi Arabian Government for enabling a swift immigration process through fast track. Moving forward, we hope all pilgrims can experience this service,” said the Indonesian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Ahmad, in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The arrival of the pilgrims at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport (AMAA) in Madinah was directly welcomed by Indonesian Ambassador Abdul Aziz Ahmad, Consul General of Indonesia in Jeddah Yusron B. Ambary, Deputy Chair II of the Indonesian Hajj Organising Committee in Saudi Arabia Budi Agung Nugroho, Head of the Madinah Working Area Khalilurrahman, and other officials.
Abdul Aziz appreciated the Saudi Arabian Government’s support in implementing the Makkah Route service, which accelerates the immigration process for pilgrims.
The Makkah Route is a strategic cooperation service between Indonesian Immigration and Saudi Arabia that allows all immigration processes, such as passport checks, visas, and customs for pilgrims, to be conducted directly at the departure airport in Indonesia.
With this scheme, upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, pilgrims no longer need to queue for immigration checks and can proceed directly to buses to be transported to hotels.
“We appreciate the hard work of all officials so that the arrival process runs very smoothly,” he said.
Regarding accommodation, pilgrims are placed under a one kloter one hotel scheme to enhance comfort. For these initial kloter, pilgrims are staying in hotels in strategic areas around the Masjid Nabawi courtyard, such as the Taibah Front and Makarem Suite areas, which are within Sector 1, facilitating easy access for worship.
“During approximately nine days in Madinah, pilgrims will receive full services before continuing their journey to Makkah,” he said.
Meanwhile, Head of the Madinah Working Area Khalilurrahman assured that all arrival processes proceeded safely and without obstacles.
“Alhamdulillah, all initial kloter arrived smoothly, orderly, and without significant issues. This is a good start for this year’s Hajj organisation,” he stated.
The faces of the pilgrims descending from the buses appeared full of joy. Smiles and gratitude shone through, reflecting happiness at arriving in the City of the Prophet. They also experienced increasingly better services from the embarkation points until arrival in Madinah.
Overall, the 2026 Hajj air transportation involves two airlines: Garuda Indonesia serving 277 kloter (around 102,502 people) from 10 embarkation points, and Saudia Airlines handling 248 kloter.