By Akram Medhat
EgyptAir will celebrate tomorrow, Wednesday, August 9, the send-off of the first Hajj groups of the 1438 AH/2017 season from the seasonal flights building at Cairo International Airport to Medina airport, with the first Jeddah flights starting on August 13, in the presence of Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathy and Safwat Moslem, chairman of EgyptAir Holding Company.
In this context, Safwat Moslem said the air bridge operated by the national carrier to serve the guests of the Most Merciful will begin tomorrow with 5 flights from the seasonal terminal at Cairo International Airport to Medina airport, carrying 1,900 lottery pilgrims from Dakahlia and Minya. On Thursday, 6 flights are scheduled to Medina airport carrying 1,400 lottery pilgrims from Dakahlia, Damietta and Minya, he said, adding that the first flights of the Social Solidarity associations will begin on Saturday, August 12, carrying 750 pilgrims from Giza and Port Said governorates, followed by the transport of tourism company pilgrims.
For his part, Captain Sherif Ezzat, chairman of EgyptAir Airlines, said an awareness campaign has been launched urging pilgrims to follow the guidelines that will ease their journey to and from the Holy Land, which include being at Egyptian airports 4 hours before flights take off. On the return leg, they should adhere to the times specified on their tickets and be at the Pilgrims City in Jeddah 8 hours before departure, and at Medina airport 6 hours before departure.
He added that pilgrims should keep their tickets in their hand luggage on both the outbound and return legs, and make sure they have received the required vaccinations according to Ministry of Health instructions, stressing that cloth sacks and bundles must not be carried, while two bags each weighing no more than 23 kg and a hand bag weighing 8 kg are allowed, with any excess charged in cash, in addition to the 5-liter Zamzam water container authorized by the Saudi authorities (Suqya Zamzam).
It is worth noting that EgyptAir has completed all its preparations for this year's 1438 AH/2017 Hajj season, taking measures and coordinating with the bodies and authorities concerned with the Hajj season to provide every comfort for the guests of the Most Merciful. This year it has offered seat capacity accommodating 63,000 pilgrims, excluding special flights during the season, on 271 outbound flights, 143 to Jeddah and 128 to Medina. The first flights begin tomorrow, August 9, and the outbound phase ends on the 26th of the same month.
As for the return phase, it is scheduled to begin on September 6, with the company concluding its air bridge from Jeddah on September 22 and operating its last flights from Medina on the 25th of the same month.
The company is scheduled to carry this year nearly 11,000 transit pilgrims, 24,700 lottery pilgrims and 12,500 association pilgrims, in addition to pilgrims of official bodies and tourism companies, as well as the special flights the company operates to carry pilgrims from the Republic of Mali, with 20 flights for 5,000 pilgrims from the city of Bamako, which began on August 3 at a rate of two flights a day.
On another front, EgyptAir is operating 11 flights to Jeddah to carry about 3,000 Palestinian pilgrims, at a rate of 3 flights a day, with the first of these flights scheduled from August 15 until August 18.
The company has deployed wide-body aircraft in its fleet, such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus 330, during the Hajj season to ease congestion in departures and arrivals, as they accommodate large numbers of passengers, while taking into account the operating schedules of the rest of the network by maneuvering between aircraft types.
