We arrived and stopped right outside the airport besides the Hajj gate. From speaking to my Umrah guide earlier in the trip as well as doing some research on Google, you can buy a 5 gallon bottle of ZamZam water at the airport to take as additional baggage if you have an Umrah visa.
I therefore looked for this counter and one of the reasons why I came a little earlier than I normally would for a flight. My initial queue up point was not the right one as it was for wrapping any luggage. But as standard, there were limited signs and perhaps there were but I can’t see very well so I just joined a queue of people without really knowing what the queue was for.
I asked an Arab elderly man who was standing besides me in the queue “ZamZam water?” but he replied “Arabic” which I think meant he only spoke arabic. But I thought hey am I not partially speaking Arabic as I thought ZamZam is Arabic. I left the queue when I got closer and could read the sign in English which said luggage wrapping, so I knew I was at the wrong place.
Soon after an airport housekeeper or security guard with a lanyard walked past me and I quickly stepped in front to stop him so I could ask for the ZamZam water sale point. He pointed behind him and from what I could see was a small queue and 2 counters in a hut-like building.
As I walked up I could see into the back of the building sort of like a warehouse. There were stacks and stacks of white boxes, all the same size with some forklifts moving them around. I thought ok, this must be it I reckon.
The 3 counters (one was not active) were arranged such that you pay at the first one and then move along to collect at the second. You show your passport and then pay SAR12,50 in cash only by the way – no card payments.
I paid with 22.5 riyals to get rid of some loose change and get a 10 riyal note back instead of coins. I still have the 10 riyals by the way which isn’t any use to me so if you ever want it, just ask (and maybe buy me a Karak chai?).
I collected the box which had a barcode on it and that clearly said ZamZam water. It was pretty easy and quick to be fair but this was about 11PM at night so may have just been the time. My flight was at 03:10 early morning so I was really early.
Stepping into Madinah airport, on first impressions it looked very chaotic with people walking all over the place in every direction. However the departure/check in desks to drop off your baggage are literally straight in front of the entrance and the first thing you’ll see walking through the doors are the screens with departure/flight times/information.
So to be fair it’s actually a very easy airport to navigate and doesn’t require a long trek to get from one side of the airport to the other – like Dublin for example!
As I arrived quite early the bag drop had not yet opened for my flight. I initially asked around to understand where I needed to go as I was unsure and this staff member who was Bengali gave me some initial instructions.
These are assistant services at the airport and he replied he would come back to find me when the bag drops open and then stay/assist me throughout until my flight.
I took a seat near the entrance for about half an hour. I regularly checked the flight information until soon after it said that counters 14-16 were open. I made my way to the counters which weren’t very far, they were just in front of me to the left. There was already a moderate queue to the counters so I had to go all the way to the back which was fine as I was really early for my flight.
It was about a 20 minute – half an hour walk until I got to the front of the line by which point the assistant had found me again and rejoined me. I noticed at this point that all the check in/boarding clerks were all veiled women to which I felt some anxiousness and was like “oh man” in my head. I was grateful for the assistant at that point to help me communicate.
Once I got to the front I handed my phone which I had checked in using the Wizz Air App. I also gave my passport. I then placed my hold luggage which by the way still had plenty of room for extra gifts and souvenirs on reflection. I placed the ZamZam water box on the belt as well which at this point the clerk asked for my Umrah visa. I had this printed out which I handed over to her.
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