Jakarta, The Makkah Route Initiative is one example of Saudi Arabia's tremendous efforts to serve pilgrims from all over the world and ensure that they perform their Hajj rituals in the utmost comfort and with ease. The Saudi Ministry of Interior has been implementing the initiative for six consecutive years at 11 airports in seven countries: Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Trkiye and Côte d'Ivoire. So far, the initiative has served 617,756 pilgrims, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The Makkah Route Initiative facilitates issuing visas electronically and collecting biometric data, carrying out all travel procedures at the airports of the countries of departure, including ensuring that the pilgrims have a clean bill of health, and coding and sorting baggage, according to the transportation and accommodation arrangements in Saudi Arabia. Many Indonesian pilgrims interviewed by SPA at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport praised the initiative and said they hoped it wil l be implemented for many years, to make it easier for pilgrims to travel to Saudi Arabia and perform Hajj. Source: Bahrain News Agency