Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport has become very crowded with the many pilgrims who arrive from different part of the world to perform Umrah.   One source estimates that on the first day of Ramadan more than 4,000 passengers arrived.  There were ten Saudi Arabian Airlines flights between 9 pm and 12 midnight. An unprecedented crowd of people created long ques at the immigration counters and squatting passengers in the airport lounge.

KAIA is the main gateway for the millions of pilgrims who come to perform Haj and Umrah.. Director of the passport department at KAIA said there was sufficient immigration staff to handle the airport crows. Brig Abdul Rahman Al-Tuwairaqi said the large crowd was the result of many foreign workers returning after vacation in their home country, combined with a large number of Umrah pilgrims.