JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian ministers have reviewed the preparations that are being made at the Hajj and Umrah hall at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport to receive pilgrims.
The work has been overseen by the Minister of Hajj and Umrah Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, the Saudi minister of transport and the chairman of the board of directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) Dr. Nabil bin Mohammed Al-Amoudi as well as the GACA president Abdul Hakim bin Mohammed Al-Tamimi.
The ministers' visit comes within the framework of King Salman’s directives to provide the best possible service to pilgrims and visitors, as well as ensuring that operations are running smoothly and that all required services are provided to facilitate their arrival and carry out their rituals effortlessly.
The officials inspected operations on the ground and met managers working in the terminal. They also had a look at various programs and equipment which are used to receive visitors and provide them with an excellent service.
The inspection included passport area No. 4, which has recently been refurbished with modern counters to receive visitors and the airport’s control room. The officials then visited Jeddah’s new airport.
The minister of transport stressed that GACA is extremely keen to do everything to facilitate the arrival of pilgrims and tourists and reduce the time it takes to complete procedures for arrivals and departures by coordinating with the relevant authorities and reforming procedures.
Hajj, aviation officials review preparations for pilgrims at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport
Hajj, aviation officials review preparations for pilgrims at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport
Saudi Arabia launches initiative to reroute Gulf cargo to Red Sea ports
- The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region
- Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has launched an initiative to redirect shipping from ports in the Arabian Gulf to its Red Sea ports amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran war.
Transport Minister Saleh Al-Jasser, who also chairs the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani), launched the Logistics Corridors Initiative alongside Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority Governor Suhail Abanmi, Mawani President Suliman Al-Mazroua, and other officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The initiative will establish dedicated operational corridors to receive containers and cargo redirected from ports in the Kingdom's Eastern Region and other Gulf Cooperation Council states to Jeddah Islamic Port and other Red Sea coast ports.
Al-Jasser said the Kingdom was committed to ensuring supply-chain stability and the smooth flow of goods through global trade routes. Jeddah Islamic Port and other west coast ports, he added, were already playing a key role in accommodating shipments redirected from the east, while also linking Gulf cargo to regional and international markets.
The initiative comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been severely disrupted by the widening conflict in the region. Iran has long threatened to close the strait — the world's most critical oil and gas chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of global oil supplies pass — in the event of a war.
Since the US and Israel struck Iran last month, Tehran has moved to restrict passage through the waterway, sending freight rates soaring and forcing shipping companies to seek alternative routes.
Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports offer a viable bypass, connecting Gulf cargo to global markets without passing through the strait.
