By air: although there are plans afoot for a complete revamp of the air transport system in Jeddah, for the meantime all international traffic goes into King Abdulaziz International Airport, the third-largest in Saudi Arabia. The airport as it stands has three terminals, one of which is solely dedicated to Hajj pilgrims and another is run exclusively for Saudi Arabian Airlines flights. Flights to here leave from destinations across the globe including Washington DC, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur and Paris among many others. Understandably, many connections are to predominantly Muslim countries. By boat: crossing the Red Sea is not a very popular way to get to Jeddah – the port usually handles cargo rather than tourists – but ferry connections are available from the Red Sea region. Ferries go from Masawa in Eritrea as well from various destinations in Egypt. Cairo-based El Salam Ferry Lines operates services from Safaga and Suez to Jeddah, the latter taking about 40 hours with daily departures. From Safaga the journey is a little shorter at 36 hours long with less frequent weekly departures. | 
