Arrival flights around Mecca up 20% ahead of Hajj: Travelport

As of July 2018, arrival flights around the holy city of Mecca ahead of this year’s Hajj were up 20 per cent when compared to the last year’s pilgrimage, according to an analysis conducted by Travelport. With Hajj being one of the five pillars of Islam, all Muslims are obliged to make the Islamic pilgrimage at least once in their lifetimes if they have the means to do so. Over five days, it involves undertaking a series of rituals including trekking through the desert and drinking water from a holy well. Every year, in excess of one million people from all over the world fly into western Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, making it one of the largest annual spikes in global air traffic. To manage numbers from overseas, Saudi Arabia sets quotas for countries based on their population of Muslims. Local governments and/or private travel companies then allocate places for citizens.
This year, the pilgrimage begins this weekend and concludes on the first day of Eid AlAdha. During this period, in total, as many as three million pilgrims are expected to participate. With such vast numbers involved, pilgrims start arriving in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as early as one month before the official start of Hajj to avoid the crowds at holy sites and prepare for the pilgrimage. Due to their proximity to relevant locations, the three airports pilgrims tend to fly into are: King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah; Ta’if Regional Airport, Ta’if; and Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz International Airport, Medina.