First group of Malaysian haj pilgrims to arrive home on June 14
MAKKAH: The first group of 284 Malaysian pilgrims for the 1446H/2025M haj season is scheduled to return home from King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, at 5.40am (local time) this Saturday (June 14).
They will depart on Malaysia Airlines flight MH8251 and are expected to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at about 8.10pm the same day.
Maktab Operations Director's Office manager Abdul Fattah Mohd Fasor said Tabung Haji (TH) and the airlines are implementing the City Check-In (CCI) system, which enables baggage check-in at pilgrims' accommodations, to ease the return process.
"The CCI process follows standard airport procedures, including restrictions on prohibited items and baggage weight limits. Malaysia Airlines is involved in today's session, while Saudi Airlines will participate in subsequent ones.
"A total of 47 CCI sessions are scheduled from today until June 24,' he told reporters after observing the process at the TH Makkah Headquarters in Abraj Al Janadriyah here.
Abdul Fattah added that each pilgrim will receive five litres of Zamzam water upon arrival in Malaysia. They are not permitted to bring their own, in line with Saudi regulations.
"Each pilgrim is allowed a baggage limit of 30kg as set by the airline. If the weight exceeds this, we encourage pilgrims, especially married couples, to repack jointly or use the available courier services,' he said.
A pilgrim from Pasir Puteh, Kelantan, Nora'azidah Abd Rahman, 51, expressed satisfaction with the smooth CCI process carried out the day before.
"We didn't expect such excellent service, and we felt like VIPs. Having the check-in process done at our accommodation made it much easier. My husband and I only needed to bring two bags under 30 kg each onto the plane,' she said.
The final group of Malaysian haj pilgrims is scheduled to depart from Madinah at 10.40am (local time) on July 10 and arrive at KLIA at 12.35am on July 11. – Bernama
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