King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah received on Saturday via its Haj Terminal the first Haj flight coming from Bangladesh with 419 pilgrims on board. The flight’s passengers were received by Deputy President of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) Sulaiman bin Hamad al-Bassam, Director General of KAIA Essam Fouad and a number of officials of the government and operation sectors working in the airport. GACA, in partnership with several government sectors, is working on a plan to facilitate and accelerate the completion of the procedures of pilgrims at the airport, according to performance indicators, Bassam said. He added that this years plan, in coordination with the Ministry of Haj, will ensure that the waiting period for pilgrims and the completion of their procedures in the pilgrims’ hall will not be more than 40 minutes. He pointed out that preparations for the reception of pilgrims for the new season begin with the end of the pilgrimage season to facilitate and speed up the procedures of pilgrims since King Abdulaziz International Airport receives 80 percent of pilgrims in cooperation with 27 parties. For his part, Fouad explained that after completing the pilgrimage e-gates for Indonesia and Malaysia this year, pilgrims from India and Pakistan will join next year. The number of countries benefiting from the e-gates will gradually increase as all the pilgrims from different countries of the world will enter through these smart gates by 2030, Fouad further noted. He said that they have prepared this year to receive flights of pilgrims coming from America and European countries through the northern and southern halls at the airport, in cooperation with the Ministry of Haj and all officials responsible in the two gates, including customs and passports and others. He expected that the Haj and Umrah Complex Halls at King Abdulaziz International Airport this year will receive more than 1.8 million pilgrims from 3,800 trips, an increase of 110 thousand pilgrims compared to 2017, which amounts to around 10 percent.