RIYADH: The first Yemeni pilgrims to the Kingdom to perform Hajj this year arrived through Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport.

The Saudi government simplified the Yemeni visitors’ travel with immigration officers ensuring entry procedures were carried out smoothly, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Kingdom’s General Directorate of Passports “has exerted every effort to ensure that the entry of pilgrims is facilitated, equipping all international border crossings with advanced technology and trained staff proficient in different languages spoken by pilgrims,” the report added.

Saudi Arabia in 2019 launched the Makkah Route Initiative to help Hajj pilgrims from seven countries — Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkiye and Ivory Coast — with their visa, customs and passport requirements.

The government program issues visas electronically and collects biometric data, carrying out all travel procedures at the airports of the countries of departure, including ensuring that pilgrims have a clean bill of health. Baggage is coded and sorted to meet the transport and accommodation arrangements while pilgrims are in the Kingdom.

King Salman earlier ordered the hosting of 2,322 Hajj pilgrims, a group that includes 1,000 family members of Palestinians killed or wounded by Israel or held in Israeli prisons.