RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - The Indonesia's Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mochamad Irfan Yusuf, officially sent off the departure of the 5th batch of hajj pilgrims from Jakarta on Saturday, April 25, 2026. A total of 442 pilgrims were dispatched thru Soekarno-Hatta Airport by using the fast track facility or Makkah Route.

The fast track facility allows the entire immigration process, including visas and biometrics, to be completed in Indonesia before departure. Thus, upon arrival in Saudi Arabia, pilgrims no longer need to undergo immigration checks and can head directly to the bus to be taken to the hotel.

The Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mochamad Irfan Yusuf, stated that this service continues to improve every year, especially in terms of technology and service efficiency for pilgrims.

"This fast track has been implemented for the past few years, but every year there are always adjustments, especially in technology," Irfan conveyed during the release of the pilgrims at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Moreover, he conveyed that the convenience greatly helps Indonesian pilgrims, especially in reducing long queues upon arriving in Saudi Arabia. The process, which previously took a long time, can now be significantly shortened.

"Pilgrims later in Madinah or Jeddah will not need any more checks. They will go straight to the bus, and then straight to the hotel," he mentioned.

In addition to the ease of departure, the government is also preparing innovations for the return process of hajj pilgrims to Indonesia. One of them is the use of facial recognition technology.

According to the minister, this technology will be gradually implemented at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta and Juanda Airport in Surabaya to expedite the arrival process for pilgrims.

"Indonesian immigration is also preparing face recognition equipment for the return of our hajj pilgrims. This means that pilgrims arriving from Saudi can directly exit the airport without a complete document check, just thru facial recognition," Irfan stated.