RIYADH: 98,816 pilgrims have benefited from the Makkah Route initiative which enabled Hajj pilgrims from five countries complete immigration, cargo, and travel procedures before departing for the Kingdom.

The initiative is part of Saudi Arabia's Guests of God Service Program and seeks to provide visitors to the holy sites with the finest possible services to help them perform their Hajj rituals easily and comfortably.

274 flights operated from Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Morocco, and Bangladesh to the Kingdom’s airports in Jeddah and Madinah as part of the initiative, and the average time to finalize procedures was one minute and 48 seconds.

Specialist Saudi teams were sent to each country to assist local staff finalize the procedures for the pilgrims.