NEW HAJJ TERMINAL IN JEDDAH SMOOTHING ARRIVAL OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000508

SIPDIS

RIYADH PASS TO DHAHRAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EAIR CASC SCUL KISL SA
SUBJECT: NEW HAJJ TERMINAL IN JEDDAH SMOOTHING ARRIVAL OF
PILGRIMS

JEDDAH 00000508 001.2 OF 002



1. Summary. The Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz
International Airport has joined the ranks of world-class
passenger terminals with the completion of the second phase
of a multi-year renovation and expansion project. 2800
pilgrims now arrive at the streamlined modern terminal every
hour in a 24/7 operation at the arrivals-only hall. While
the pilgrims are in Mecca the same building will be
transformed into a departures-only facility using mobile
check-in desks and repurposing every assembly area and
lounge. ConsOff met two groups of American Hajj pilgrims on
November 23 at the remaining old section of the Hajj
Terminal. By this time next year, the old section will be
replaced by the final phase of the new facility. End Summary.


2. On November 29, Pol/EconOff toured the new Hajj Terminal
with Vice President of Civil Aviation Dr. Mohammed Berenji,
Hajj Terminal Manager Sami Badr, and Ports Project Management
COO Fadhel Jokhdar. The tour began alongside the old
terminal. With seven arrival bays and three jetways, the
terminal has been operating since the early 1980s. Each of
the seven bays holds a separate operation from start to
finish of passenger processing. The Hajj Terminal is the
only airport in the world that functions as an all-arrivals
or all-departures terminal with arrivals taking place for
over four weeks leading up to the Hajj and departures
starting at the conclusion of Hajj and running for over a
month.

Modern Efficiency Meets Ancient Ritual
--------------


3. Abutting the old terminal now stands 60 percent of the new
terminal with six of an eventual ten tubular glass jetways
leading to lounges which open into a single integrated
terminal hall. The first twenty- five percent of the new
terminal opened last year. An enormous cavernous hall, the
new structure is lined with stone and covered by a soaring
enclosed ceiling of steel and glass. Pilgrims move through
color-coded sectors starting with verification of health
certificates and continuing to immigration, baggage claim and
customs. Photographs and fingerprints are taken at
immigration and a bar-code system is used to keep track of
each pilgrim and make sure all pilgrims reach the correct
agent, transport to Mecca and accommodation. Exiting the
building after approximately two hours of arrival processing,
pilgrims continue through the famous white "tented" plaza
where there are rest areas for some of the national groups,
cafeterias, and a new 123-room hotel under construction. At
the edge of the plaza, buses stand by to transport the
pilrigms to Mecca or Medinah.


4. Once the last Hajjis are processed on the eve of the Hajj,
airport authorities will remove mobile customs operations and
place 58 mobile check-in desks in front of the luggage
carousels. The carousels, which carried luggage off the
planes upon arrival, will now take bags in the opposite
direction to be loaded on departing planes. Arrival lounges
are converted to departure lounges. Duty free shops and
restaurants, still in the final phases of construction, will
be open to serve outbound passengers.


5. A high-tech control room monitors every stage of the
process remotely. However, until next year, when the old
terminal will be replaced with the final phase of the new
terminal, the all-Saudi staff -- a point of pride for the
airport directors -- will continue to use a magnetic board
with a schematic of the terminal and manually movable magnets
identifying each plane-load of passengers. Surprisingly,
centralized computerized check-in is just now being
introduced, replacing the system of laptops owned by each
carrier used to process passengers. Next year the Saudis
hope to introduce through their embassies worldwide a smart
card for each pilgrim which will contain his or her
photograph, fingerprints, medical information, itinerary and
emergency information. In a setting where dozens of
languages are spoken, the introduction of these electronic
processing tools will not only speed up the operation but
should also aid in tracking Hajj visa overstayers, a
perennial problem in the Jeddah region.

So Many Flights, So Little Time
--------------


6. Today the Hajj Terminal handles up to 62,000 passengers
inbound per day. The completed project was designed to move
3800 people per hour inbound and 3500 outbound. Currently
1000 bags per hour also move through the airport. In terms
of flights, during the peak period in the few days just prior
to Hajj, planes arrive and depart at the rate of one every

JEDDAH 00000508 002 OF 002


minute and 20 seconds. (Note that the same three runways are
used for regular and Hajj traffic.) In total, approximately
9000 flights will arrive and depart as part of the Hajj
operation this year, roughly 2500 of them operated by Saudi
airlines. 75-80 percent of the flights will be operated by
charter companies. Under the administration of the General
Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) the three Saudi carriers
-- Saudia, SAMA and NAS Air -- collectively have the right to
carry 50 percent of the passengers traveling from each Hajj
country. However, lacking sufficient fleet capacity, these
carriers subcontract some of that load to third-party
operators. The other 50 percent of the passengers fly on
their national carriers, on other regularly scheduled
flights, or on special Hajj charters.


7. According to Dr. Berenji, there are problems every year
with countries that exceed their Hajj quota, carry more than
their share of the passengers on their own carriers, fail to
obtain commitments to transport all of their Hajjis or
otherwise need intervention and assistance with Hajj flights.
GACA endeavors to impose fines when rules are violated but
supplicants will sometimes entreat the King to intercede in
his capacity as guardian of the two holy mosques and quash
the fines. GACA also works with operators and national
authorities to find solutions for stranded pilgrims as is
currently the case in Thailand where the airports have been
closed due to political turmoil.

American Pilgrims
--------------


8. On November 23, ConsOff, accompanied by Senior Consular
Assistant, welcomed two separate groups of American citizen
pilgrims who had arrived on planes at the old section of the
Hajj terminal. The U.S. pilgrims represent a wide range of
states -- from Florida to New York to Michigan to California
and seemingly everywhere in between. The majority were
first-time pilgrims although some were returning with family
members for a second or even third pilgrimage. The Consul
presented each pilgrim with a handout listing emergency
contacts in Jeddah and Mecca, including information on the
services the Consulate could and could not provide as well as
a few tips on Saudi customs. The pilgrims were pleased by
the attention and appreciative of the visit. As time and
availability allows, ConsOff plans to meet other planeloads
of pilgrims whose passengers are American citizens.
Approximately 15,000 U.S. residents are expected to make the
Hajj pilgrimage this year. (Note: The U.S. Hajj quota this
year is 20,000.)

What Comes Next
--------------


9. By the start of Hajj next year the old terminal hall and
jetways will be torn down and replaced by an extension of the
new structure which will include one jetway capable of
handling Airbus A-380s. The Bin Laden Group, which built the
first phase of the new terminal, has the contract for the
extension -- a full 40% of the total terminal area. According
to a representative of the company, work will proceed 24
hours a day to meet the tight deadline. Given anticipated
population growth, the new terminal is only expected to
accommodate the growing number of pilgrims for approximately
15 years. A second terminal, the same size and design as the
new terminal under its own duplicate soaring white tent, is
already included in the rendering of the completed airport.
Construction is not planned however, for years to come. In
the meantime, the Saudis will commence the construction of a
rail line directly from the new terminal to Mecca and
Medinah, easing the ground movement of pilgrims.
QUINN