About 65,000 Indonesian pilgrims departing from the Jakarta embarkation point will be able to bypass the usual lengthy immigration checks upon arrival in Saudi Arabia with the implementation of the Makkah Route Initiative.

The initiative, which was launched in Jakarta on Sunday, aims to ease the journey of pilgrims by giving them the opportunity to get biometric recording and passport checks done in Indonesia, allowing them to directly head to buses that will transfer them to their accommodation upon arrival.

An estimated 214,000 pilgrims will depart from 13 embarkation points throughout the country for the haj this year. However, only those departing through the Jakarta embarkation point — pilgrims from Jakarta, Lampung, Banten and West Java — will get the facility.

In 2018, about 64,000 Indonesian pilgrims used the service.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, who oversaw on Sunday the departure of 1,900 pilgrims belonging to the first flight group from Jakarta’s embarkation point, lauded the initiative, calling it a major improvement.

He said Indonesian pilgrims often experienced difficulties when arriving at Saudi Arabian airports and that he was hoping more Indonesians could get the special facility.

“It is the second trial [in Jakarta]. We hope to see it implemented at all 13 embarkation points,” Kalla told reporters after sending off the pilgrims at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Indonesia Esam A. Abid Althagafi appreciated the support of the Indonesian government during the program’s implementation and hoped to see the smooth transfer of pilgrims to the holy cities of Medina and Mecca this year.

“We are very happy to see Mr. Vice President here. It is an honor for us,” he said.

Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin said the Saudi Arabian government would conduct an evaluation before deciding whether to expand the fast-track program to other embarkation points.

“If there is no issue [in this year’s implementation] and if it can be replicated at other embarkation points, of course we want the Saudi Arabian government [to expand it],” he said.

Lukman claimed the program had been successful.

It used to take four to five hours for a flight group to get biometrics recorded and passports checked at Saudi Arabian airports, he said. All of that can now be done in Indonesia.

“When they [pilgrims] arrive in Jeddah or Medina, they will head directly to buses and hotels. The officials will take care of their luggage.”

The Makkah Route initiative is set to serve more than 225,000 pilgrims from Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Tunisia, the Saudi Arabian Embassy said.

Hosting the largest Muslim population, Indonesia sends the largest number of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Cucu, 55, from Cianjur regency, West Java, was among those who departed from Jakarta on Sunday.

For a pilgrim like Cucu, who will be traveling alongside her sick husband, the haj might not be easy as her husband uses a wheelchair.

This year marks her second pilgrimage, seven years after registering to go on the haj a second time. She said this year’s process was different than the previous time she went on the haj.

“The [immigration] process was fast. It only took around five minutes to undergo fingerprint scanning and to take a photograph,” Cucu said on her way to board the plane. (asp)

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