03 September 2015 - The first two batches of Philippine Hajj Pilgrims arrived at the newly opened Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madina on August 23. The pilgrims, who were on board two different flights via Saudi Airlines SV871 and Emirates Airlines EK807, were welcomed and assisted by the Muslim officials of the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah headed by Consul Germinia V. Aguilar-Usudan, Acting Head of Post.
The officials from the Philippine Consulate General and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) also welcomed and assisted the subsequent arrivals of more than 2,500 Hajj Pilgrims on board different flights from August 24 to 28.
The Hajj pilgrims were reminded of the need to comply with the Saudi Anti-Money Laundering Law requiring pilgrims to declare upon arrival, the amount of currencies they possess that exceeded SR60,000 (USD16,000) to avoid any penalty.
The number of Hajj pilgrims arriving in the Holy City of Madina in the coming days before the 2015 Hajj, will be the highest number of arrivals from the Philippines to be recorded. In the past, Jeddah was the port of entry for the majority of Philippine Hajj Pilgrims. END