1.65 million pilgrims arrive in Saudi Arabia until Saturday

JEDDAH — The General Directorate of Passports said 1,655,188 people had arrived in the Kingdom to perform Hajj this year, through all border points, until the end of Saturday.

Of these, the directorate said, 1,587,590 — including 242,272 beneficiaries of the Makkah Route Initiative — arrived by plane, 60,768 came overland and 6,830 by sea.

The directorate stressed that it had exerted all effort to facilitate the pilgrims’ entry procedures, including by equipping its branches at all border crossings with the latest technological devices and by mobilizing personnel who speak various languages. SPA