Smart Tech To Shorten Airport Waiting Time During Haj, Umrah

By Mokhtar Hussain MAKKAH, March 24 (Bernama) — Authorities in Saudi Arabia are opting for the use of smart data management technology to help end the long waiting time at airports for Haj and Umrah pilgrims travelling to the kingdom. One of the plans is to introduce the RFID (radio-frequency identification) wristlet to accelerate identity checks during arrival and departure at airports. “Currently, it takes hours to clear Immigration or Customs checkpoints. In the near future, we hope it will take not more than 10 minutes,” Saudi Vice-Minister of Haj and Umrah Dr Abdulfattah Suliman Mashat told three visiting Malaysian media editors here. He said that with the RFID wristlet, pilgrims would no longer be required to produce their passport at the checkpoints as they woud be automatically registered when passing through the electronic gates. Dr Abdulfattah, who was appointed to the post recently, said the technology would also help identify the hotel of the pilgrims and which bus they were supposed to board at the airports. “The long waiting period is not acceptable to us,” he said. Another plan is to design a luggage clearing and transfer service that would ensure safe arrival of pilgrims’ luggage to their respective homes without them having to bring the luggage themselves from the hotel to the airport before leaving for home. “The bags don’t travel with you and you don't have to wait (for the bags),” he said, adding that it included the zam zam water as well. Dr Abdulfattah is confident the system would work well for Malaysian pilgrims and praised Tabung Haji for its efficient management of the pilgrims. He gave Tabung Haji a rating of 9.5 out of 10 for its efficiency in the smooth handling of pilgrims from Malaysia. “They are very organised. Everytime we have new ideas we will go straight to Tabung Haji for implementation,” he said. He said a pilot project was successfully conducted with Tabung Haji last year and Malaysia became the first country in the world to implement the “pre-clearance” process for Haj pilgrims. The programme allowed pilgrims to undergo “pre-clearance” at the KL International Airport before departure so they would not have to go through passport control and customs checks at airports in Jeddah and Madinah. He said these were among the many initiatives to be implemented by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah in collaboration with other related ministries in the country, in line with the kingdom’s Vision 2030. Dr Abdulfattah also said that the haj quota would remain the same this year for all countries. He explained that the quota was increased last year and the Saudi authorities would not be able to increase it further due to the limited facilities in Mina. “We don't want to risk the safety of the pilgrims, unless we have completed building new projects in Mina, I don't think it will be a good idea (to increase the quota),” he said. He revealed plans to build multi-storey buildings with greenhouse technology in Mina this year which would change the landscape of the tent-city of Mina. The complexes will be equipped with high-standard facilities, and each would be able to accommodate 4,000 pilgrims. Dr Abdulfattah said his ministry was studying the possibility of utilising smart technology in striving to provide pilgrims with the best experience during their journey to the holy land. He said the kingdom was targeting to accommodate 30 million Umrah pilgrims annually by 2030 from seven million now, as well as 4.5 million Haj pilgrims from the current three million. The Haramain fast train linking Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah, covering a distance of more than 450 kilometres, is expected to be operational soon and is currently undergoing test runs. “We want to improve the services for pilgrims so that when they travel from their home countries to Saudi Arabia, when they reach the airport and hotel, they will enjoy a high standard of services,” he said. He said the expansion projects at Jeddah airport were progressing well and the third expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah was now in the final phase. Prior to his new appointment, Dr Abdulfattah, 48, was the President of University of Jeddah. Before that he was the Vice-President for Development at King Abdulaziz University for three years. Dr Abdulfattah graduated with a bachelor of science degree from King Abdulaziz University in 1989 and received his Masterof Science and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from University of Leeds, United Kingdom, in 1999, in the area of computer science. -- BERNAMA