Eid chaos at Jeddah Airport could have been avoided

Eid chaos at Jeddah Airport could have been avoided

If there is a single word to describe the events that occurred a little over a week ago at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, it would be the word ‘disaster’. Why the airport in Jeddah is important is simply because it is indeed the gateway to the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madinah and any form of disturbance is very quickly magnified. Here’s basically what happened. As thousands of travellers who had completed the religious rituals during the holy month of Ramadan and were eager to return home and celebrate the Eid holidays with their loved ones made their way to the very airport that brought them to the country a few days earlier, they witnessed chaotic scenes with large numbers of departing passengers stranded outside the terminal due to overcapacity. Soon the blame game started while not much effort was being taken to immediately address the situation. Airport officials blamed the Umrah establishments for the congestion by bringing their pilgrims to the airport 12 hours before the flight’s departure time. The chaotic scenes around the airport terminal with the overcrowding were triggered by the arrival of departing pilgrims who came well before their flight time. The Ministry