Cairo - Mubasher: The last land Hajj tourist flights for the 1446 AH Hajj season arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, departing from Egypt to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.

These trips include 8 tourist buses carrying 313 tourist pilgrims, bringing the total number of land tourist pilgrims to 7,500, under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and in implementation of the directives of Sherif Fathy, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, to provide the utmost care and comfort to tourist pilgrims until their safe return to their homeland, according to a press release.

The Ministry's committees, from the central administration of tourism companies, currently present at the Nuweiba Port in Egypt, the Aqaba Port in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Halat Ammar border crossing on the Saudi border, continued their follow-up to receive these pilgrims upon their arrival, providing them with the necessary facilities and ensuring they receive all services from tourism companies in accordance with the Ministry's regulations.

The Ministry's field committees in Mecca and Medina will also ensure that they are accommodated in their places of residence.

For her part, Samia Sami, Assistant Minister for Tourism Companies Affairs, Head of the Egyptian Hajj Tourism Affairs Office, and Head of the Supreme Hajj and Umrah Committee, confirmed that the total number of overland Hajj trips operated this season amounted to 180 trips, carrying 7,500 overland pilgrims on modern tourist buses. These buses were comprehensively inspected technically and touristically before the trips began to ensure they met safety and efficiency standards. She emphasized that the Ministry’s committees deployed along the overland Hajj trip route are closely monitoring the movement of all trips.

Samia Sami explained that the ministry had coordinated early on with relevant authorities in Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia to facilitate the passage of pilgrims by land and ensure they receive the services agreed upon by tourism companies in accordance with approved regulations. She praised this cooperation and coordination, which resulted in the rapid completion of security checks for buses and reduced their duration to three hours instead of six.

It's worth noting that the number of overland Hajj visas issued this season has reached 7,500, in addition to 278 supervisors from tourism companies implementing overland Hajj programs, representing 18% of the total quota for Egyptian Hajj tourism, which amounts to 40,672 visas. This comes as part of the Ministry's commitment to diversifying the level of trips and offering multiple options to suit different segments.