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Flying Taxis, Drones – Saudi Arabia’s new initiative to make Hajj smoother

In yet another move to make Hajj journey smoother, Saudi Arabia has decided to introduce flying taxis and drones for this year’s annual pilgrimage to Makkah.

Saturday May 11, 2024 1:00 AM, ummid.com with inputs from Agencies

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Riyadh: In yet another move to make Hajj journey smoother, Saudi Arabia has decided to introduce flying taxis and drones for this year’s annual pilgrimage to Makkah.

Hajj this year is likely to be performed from June 14 to 19, 2024 – the final dates to be confirmed after citing of the new moon of the month of Dhul Hijjah.

More than 2.5 million Muslims from around the world will throng Makkah and Madinah in June for Hajj 2024.

To make their Hajj pilgrimage smoother, Saudi Arabia has announced a slew of measures along with introduction of flying taxis and drones for hassle free transportation.

Speaking at a press briefing after welcoming the first batch of foreign pilgrims at Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina on Thursday May 09, 2024, Saudi Minister of Transport and Logistics, Saleh Al Jasser said that these cutting-edge modes of transport, including taxi applications, aim to enhance the overall pilgrimage experience.

Al Jasser highlighted that several specialised companies in the transportation sector are in a race to provide the best means of transport in the coming years. He emphasised the importance of understanding these technologies and creating a suitable environment for their operation during the Hajj season.

Key Highlights

• The initiative of Flying Taxis is a collaboration between the Saudi authorities and the Volocopter.
• This electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft will be working as a taxi to transport pilgrims from Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz Airport to their hotels in Makkah.
• These taxis will also function as emergency response vehicles.
• As per reports, the flying taxis have completed their test flights in Saudi Arabia’s megacity project, Neom, which is located in the northwest.
• The Saudi authorities plan to purchase 100 Lilium German jets to operate an air taxi service.

Saudi Arabian Airlines, also known as Saudia, had previously expressed its intention to operate flying taxis to transport Hajj pilgrims between King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and hotels in Makkah. The airline aims to procure approximately 100 aircraft to facilitate this service.

(With inputs from Gulf News)

 

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