Saudi Arabia to use drones to prevent illegal Hajj permit holders

ISLAMABAD: In a major move to curb unauthorized pilgrims during the Hajj season, Saudi authorities have begun drone surveillance in the holy city of Makkah. The move is aimed at monitoring and preventing the entry of people without official Hajj permits.

According to Saudi state media reports, the drone operation has already led to the daily arrest of hundreds of violators attempting to perform the Hajj illegally. Among those detained were Indonesian nationals suspected of promoting a fake Hajj permit campaign. Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of 14 more people at their residences, none of whom had valid Hajj documents.

In a separate development to improve the travel experience for legitimate pilgrims, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) has installed 20 electronic gates (e-gates) at Medina’s Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport. These high-tech gates are designed to speed up the immigration process and reduce waiting times for incoming pilgrims.

SDAIA is working with immigration and airport authorities to deploy artificial intelligence solutions that streamline the entry procedure. In addition to the e-gates, more than 30 advanced passport reading devices have been installed to facilitate smooth processing.

To ensure uninterrupted service, dedicated SDAIA teams have been deployed on site to respond quickly in the event of any technical issues or system malfunctions.

The arrival terminal in Madinah has been further strengthened with additional personnel and four state-of-the-art fingerprint scanning units, further enhancing the security and efficiency of the immigration process for incoming Hajj passengers.