KUALA LUMPUR: The Saudi Arabia flag carrier Saudia Airlines has signed an acceptance of the offer from Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) to provide hajj charter flights to Malaysian pilgrims for the next three years.

The acceptance of the offer was signed by Saudia chief executive officer Captain Ibrahim Koshy while TH was represented by executive director Datuk Seri Syed Saleh Syed Abdul Rahman.

The signing ceremony was held at the Jeddah Superdome, Saudi Arabia and was witnessed by Saudia director-general Ibrahim Al Omar, in conjunction with the Conference and Exhibition for Hajj and Umrah Services organised by the kingdom's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

In a statement today, Ibrahim said the airline would fly up to 50 per cent of Malaysian pilgrims in stages from Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang (KLIA) directly to King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah

He said the airline paid great attention to the hajj and umrah sector by having an established department that works solely to provide the best services to hajj and umrah pilgrims.

"It also serves to attract pilgrims, chooses markets of high travel demand, collaborates with foreign organisations and entities that handle hajj and umrah for their citizens, schedules itineraries and coordinates movement with the Saudi Arabian Civil Aviation Authority for convenience of all guests.

"Saudia will be utilising the Boeing B787-9 aircraft with 298 seats to provide the best service and ensure the pilgrimage experience begins as soon as they step into the aircraft," he said.

Meanwhile, Syed Saleh said TH is the sole governing body in Malaysia that is entrusted to provide various comprehensive facilities and services for the comfort and welfare of Malaysian pilgrims.

He said the offer to Saudia to provide charter hajj flights for Malaysian pilgrims from 2022 to 2024 strengthened the deep bilateral relationship between the Malaysian government and the Saudi Arabian government.

"This hajj charter flight arrangement is TH's continuous effort to ensure air transportation is in place to ferry Malaysian pilgrims to the Holy Land in preparation if the Saudi Arabian government allows foreign pilgrims to perform hajj this year," he added.

-- BERNAMA