Leaving Home for the Airport

At a glance

• Keep passport, visa, ticket, vaccination card and hotel voucher in one folder.
• Write your emergency family contact and travel agent’s numbers on paper as well.
• Carry essential medicines, with the doctor’s prescription, in your hand bag.
• If you are going straight to Makkah, put on Ihram at home or at the airport.

Step by step

1. The day before: check every item against the documents checklist. Keep photocopies of your passport and visa separately, and save photos of them on your phone.
2. Luggage weight: check your airline’s allowance on the ticket and weigh your bags at home.
3. Hand bag: medicines, phone charger, one change of clothes, a spare Ihram sheet, sandals and some Saudi riyals. No liquids over the airline limit or sharp items in the hand bag.
4. Ihram: if your flight goes to Jeddah and you are going to Makkah first, take a bath, put on the Ihram sheets and pray the nafl. Make the intention on the plane before the Miqat. If you are going to Madinah first, you do not need Ihram yet.
5. Leaving home: say goodbye to your family and take their du’as. When you sit in the vehicle, recite the travel du’a:

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي سَخَّرَ لَنَا هَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقْرِنِينَ وَإِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّنَا لَمُنْقَلِبُونَ

Glory be to the One who has placed this at our service, for we could never have done it ourselves, and to our Lord we will surely return.

6. At the airport: give your passport and ticket at check-in, hand over your luggage and collect your boarding pass. Then go through immigration and security.
7. Your group: if you travel with a group, tell the group leader you have arrived and post in the group WhatsApp.

Do

• Reach the airport well ahead of time.
• Tag your bags with your name and phone number.
• Request airport wheelchair assistance from the airline in advance for elderly travellers.

Don’t

• Don’t carry anyone else’s bag or parcel in your luggage.
• Don’t pack your original passport or money in checked luggage.
• Don’t leave packing to the last minute.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the vaccination card or hotel details at home.
• Packing the Ihram in checked luggage when the intention is to be made on the plane.
• Overweight luggage and paying extra at the airport.

Frequently asked questions

Can I fly wearing Ihram? Yes, this is common. Make the intention before the Miqat; the restrictions do not start before that.

How much cash should I carry? Carry some Saudi riyals in cash and use your ATM card there for the rest. Before you travel, make sure international ATM withdrawals are activated on your card through your bank’s helpline. One person usually needs at least SAR 1,500 for a one-month package.

How do I prepare elderly parents? Explain the stages of the journey beforehand, keep their medicines in their hand bag, and put a contact-number slip in their pocket.