First Meeting of Hajj and Pilgrimage Planning Council Held in Mecca; 81 Percent of Iranian Pilgrims Entered the Land of Revelation

At the beginning of this meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Navvab, while appreciating the efforts of the Hajj service providers and emphasizing the importance of “honoring” the pilgrims in all planning and measures, noted that despite the desired satisfaction of the pilgrims, the shortcomings and problems that exist must be followed up and action must be taken to eliminate them all.

He also pointed out some changes that have been made by the host country in services related to the days of Tashreeq, and emphasized the need to take the necessary measures and preparations for these days and prevent problems from occurring.

The representative of the Supreme Leader for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, stating that nearly 98 percent of pilgrims are attending Hajj for the first time, noted that these pilgrims should be provided with the necessary assistance and guidance so that they can complete their duties without worries.

The Hojjat al-Islam Navvab also asked the clerics of the caravans to give the necessary advice to the pilgrims to benefit more from the opportunity to be present at the Holy House during the noon and afternoon prayers.

Dr. Bayat, the head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, also stated in this meeting that there are approximately 10 days left until the peak of the Hajj operations during the days of Tashreeq, and said: God willingly, until today, all the Hajj servants have followed the work with maximum strength and sensitivity, and with the help of God, no particular problem has arisen; therefore, God willing, this maximum strength and sensitivity should be followed until the last day, and even the smallest weakness and defect should be taken seriously and steps should be taken to solve it, so that we do not witness the emergence of larger problems.

Mr. Akbar Rezaei, Deputy Director of Hajj and Umrah of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization, presented a detailed report on the process of serving pilgrims to the Holy House and Medina of the Prophet (PBUH) and said: By 12:00 today, 81 percent of Iranian pilgrims will arrive in the land of revelation, and outbound flights will end from 15 flight stations in the country.

The Deputy Director of Hajj and Umrah of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization also expressed satisfaction with the reduction in delays in Hajj flights, which has brought the process of these flights to a desirable state this year, and thanked the relevant authorities in this field.

Mr. Masoumi, Iran Air's representative in Saudi Arabia, who was also present at the meeting, announced that the delays in Iran Air flights have now reached 13 minutes and are constantly decreasing; therefore, this issue has improved significantly compared to previous years.

The Iran Air representative also expressed hope that with the current trend, the average delays at the end of the Hajj 1404 operation will fall below 10 minutes.

In another part of his report, Mr. Rezaei mentioned a new issue in the host country during this year's services.

In order to prevent some of the incidents of previous years, such as the death of nearly 600 Egyptian pilgrims, most of whom were said to have entered the Hajj area illegally, the Saudi government only allows people with Nosaq cards and permits to be present in Mecca during the Hajj period, and accordingly, workers who are present without permits are directed out of Mecca.

Referring to the lack of preparedness in Saudi companies related to labor services in this field, Mr. Rezaei said that the dismissal of workers without permits has reduced the service force and caused problems in some hotels.

Hojjat al-Islam Akhavian, Director of Education and Culture of the Cultural Deputy of the Supreme Leader's Mission, also presented a report on the Mission's educational and informative activities for Iranian pilgrims in Medina and Mecca.

In his speech, he announced that a total of about 5,000 training sessions had been held for pilgrims - in Iran, Medina, and Mecca.

In another part of the meeting, Mr. Hossein Esmaili, Director of the Office of Supervision and Inspection of the Supreme Leader's Mission, presented a report on the supervision of this administration over the process of Hajj operations and services to pilgrims, and emphasized the need to seriously follow up on contracts with companies in the host country in order to realize all the rights of pilgrims.

The shortage of workers in service companies in the host country was among the issues that Mr. Esmaili also mentioned.

Dr. Marashi, Head of the Hajj and Pilgrimage Medical Board of the Red Crescent, also stated that more than 40,000 medical services, including about 8,500 visits, were carried out in Mecca and Medina.

Dr. Marashi said: "Almost the entire medical team has arrived in the Land of Revelation."

He also referred to some new guidelines of the host country regarding clinics and noted that some obstacles and problems that have arisen should be resolved through continuous follow-up.

The Director of Mecca's Urban Transportation, while continuing the meeting, presented a detailed report on the transportation system for Iranian pilgrims in Mecca, saying that currently 160 buses are transporting Iranian pilgrims within the city of Mecca, and the number of these buses will reach 200 during the peak of pilgrims' presence.

Mr. Masoumi, a representative of Iran Air, also said that so far 238 flights have been operated by Iran Air to transport our pilgrims, and more than 58,000 Iranian pilgrims have been transported to the Land of Revelation by this company.

He also said that the work of transporting Zamzam water to Iran is also underway on return flights, and so far this has been completed for 18 out of 20 flight stations, and a total of 71,383 bottles of Zamzam water have been transferred to Iran.

The Iran Air representative also referred to Iran's plans and extensive consultations with Taif and Jeddah airports for the return flights of Iranian pilgrims, and said that we are trying to complete the return flight operations using Jeddah and Taif airports by the second of Muharram this year, without the need for pilgrims to transit from Mecca to Medina.