Only those who know the gravity of traffic woes that people of Makkah experience could realize the significance of establishing a new airport for the city.

Similar is the case of Haj and Umrah pilgrims as well as visitors to the holy city who travel to Jeddah’s airport and spend more than two hours to complete procedures for their departure to various domestic and foreign destinations.

They have to confront numerous problems at King Abdul Aziz International Airport mainly due to the heavy rush all through the year, especially during the peak Haj and Umrah as well as vacation seasons.

Needless to say, the difficulties due to the delay or cancellation of flights without prior notice are routine in the case of our national carrier — Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Moreover, the unexpected traffic problems along the Makkah- Jeddah expressway also more often than not result in the delay of passengers reaching the airport.

It is true that the idea of an airport for Makkah is not a new one. It has been a hot topic of discussion for the local dailies for some time.

Some officials used to declare that such an airport is not necessary and that one in Jeddah is enough. But it seems that some of these people who oppose an airport in Makkah do not understand the magnitude of the difficulties passengers face in Jeddah. There seems to be no respite to these hardships, but they are aggravating day by day.

There are some factors contributing to this. These include the traffic congestion along the Haramain Road, especially from the Jeddah checkpoint up to the airport.

Most often there is a heavy rush on the road especially in the morning and after Dhuhr and Asr prayers, and this perhaps extend to the late hours in the night. This means that there is no end to traffic congestion on the road. This is more evident when traffic accidents often occur.

There should be urgent remedial measures to solve traffic jams on this portion of the road. There has not been any noticeable advantage with the expansion of the road a few years ago.

Whatever the solutions in place to tackle the problems facing Jeddah’s airport, they would neither be sufficient nor stand in the way of the demand for establishing a new airport for Makkah.

There should be one new airport at least providing domestic flights, especially between Makkah and Madinah. Apart from easing the heavy pressure on Jeddah’s airport, this would also be a big comfort to the people of Makkah as well as pilgrims and visitors to the holy city.

The proposed Haramain Rail that would connect Makkah and Madinah is said to be instrumental in solving traffic problems or at least ease them by enabling people to reach both the cities within the short span of one and a half hours.

But that is not an excuse to turn down the demand for a new airport, especially in the wake of the growing number of Haj and Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the holy city. No doubt the Haramain train would solve the problem partly but it is not at all a total solution.

Remove all obstacles facing pilgrims, king tells officials

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah holds talks with Jordan's King Abdallah at his palace in Makkah on Monday. The two leaders discussed major regional and international issues and explored ways of strengthening bilateral ties. (SPA)

MAKKAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on Monday urged government departments to mobilize all their resources to extend the best possible services to the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have come from around the world to perform Umrah during Ramadan.

Addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting, King Abdullah expressed his satisfaction for laying the foundation for the largest expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and opening a number of vital projects in Makkah and Madinah, and hoped the new projects would benefit the guests of God who visit the holy places.

"Every effort should be made to improve facilities for the huge number of pilgrims who have arrived in the holy city and remove the obstacles facing them," the king told officials during the Cabinet meeting.

The Cabinet reviewed the progress of the national fundraising campaign to alleviate the suffering of the Somali people and urged Saudis and residents to respond positively to the king's call by donating generously to the Somalia relief fund.

The king briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Jordanian King Abdallah and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani.

The Cabinet expressed deep sorrow over the killing of several people in different parts of the Islamic world during the past week and reiterated the Kingdom's condemnation of terrorist activities.

The meeting also denounced the Israeli air strike on Gaza, killing and injuring several Palestinians. It urged the international community to stop Israel's escalation of violence in the region.

Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet adopted a number of decisions to speed up implementation of delayed government projects.

The Cabinet also decided that a single person should not be allowed to become a member of more than five boards of directors of listed holding companies at a time. But one can become a board member of non-listed companies without any limit. A person can also become a member of both listed and non-listed companies.

The Cabinet banned real estate timesharing system in Makkah and Madinah on non-Saudis and urged the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities to enlighten the public on the matter and monitor violations.

The Cabinet appointed Ibrahim Al-Khalil as the mayor of Asir, Saad Muflehi, assistant undersecretary for environment affairs at the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, Attiyah Al-Ghamdi, minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry, Muhammad Al-Zamil, economist at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Othman Al-Raqie, director general of customs at King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam.