Makkah: Pilgrims started leaving Makkah after performing the farewell tawaf, the last ritual of Haj, on Thursday evening. Several buses, carrying the pilgrims, started leaving for Madinah to visit the Prophet’s Mosque.

The first flight from the Haj terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah took off on Friday morning. Essam Bin Fuad Noor, director general of the airport, talking to Saudi Gazette said that all arrangements have been completed for the departure of pilgrims.

More than 13,000 staffers, representing 27 government and private agencies and departments, have been deployed to complete the travel procedures and extending various services for the pilgrims.

Noor said that more than one million pilgrims will leave the Kingdom through the Jeddah airport, of which about half a million will return within a week. Pilgrims who did not visit the Prophet’s Mosque will return only after completion of the visit.

Many pilgrims expressed happiness over the completion of the pilgrimage in ease and comfort. They thanked the Saudi authorities for the smooth conduct of Haj, especially the meticulously arranged crowd management system at the Jamarat.

More than 2.37 million pilgrims came this year, most of them from abroad, for the five-day ritual. Attendance is a religious duty, once in a lifetime, for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

“I feel I am born once again,” said Egyptian pilgrim Sabah Saeed, 49. “This is a great blessing from God and it makes you so happy.” More than 110,000 members of the security forces and 32,000 health workers were on hand this week to maintain safety and provide first aid, said organisers.

Saudi Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabeeah said the pilgrimage had passed without any outbreak of disease, a perennial concern.

Mohammad Noor Rahman Shaikh, consul general of India, said that the overall pilgrims’ movement part was much better, smoother and timely comparing with the previous years.

“The crowd control mechanism at Jamarat was excellent and the pilgrims could perform the stoning ritual comfortably despite extreme temperatures,” he said.