Al Salem Johnson Controls (York), a leading provider of integrated solutions in HVAC-R, fire, safety and security systems, said it will provide cooling to Hajj pilgrims at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.

Services start the moment they arrive at the airport, until their departure to their respective countries after performing the various acts of Hajj, the company said.

For decades, York has continued to provide a cooled comfortable environment for pilgrims during their Hajj journey, starting at King Abdulaziz Airport, holy sites in Makkah and Madinah and back.

This year's Hajj will be the first to be held at full capacity after the Covid-19 pandemic, increasing pressure to provide maximum comfort levels for the pilgrims. York has carried out all preventive maintenance and contingency checks to ensure the cooling of the 105-sq-km Jeddah airport, through integrated solutions for airport cooling, control and safety systems.

York solutions are designed to accommodate the airport's expected capacity of 30 million passengers annually while offering a comfortable and enriching experience for travellers.

Additionally, specialized maintenance and service teams, supervise the operations of all HVAC-R solutions at the airport throughout the day and night, to ensure efficient cooling. It is noteworthy that the company has the largest technical team in the Middle East with the ability to respond to emergencies in record time.

King Abdulaziz International Airport cooling capacity is 135,000 TR, which is equivalent to the cooling capacity of 13,500 medium-sized apartments through three cooling plants that include 54 chillers and 21 reserve chillers. These are allocated to the airport's vital facilities, such as terminals, data centers, mosques, and the air traffic control tower.

In addition to the HVAC-R solutions, the company has equipped the airport with control systems, security and monitoring systems, including the Building Management System (BMS). These solutions save energy by an average of 30% and ensure the smooth operation of various airport equipment and systems with high efficiency.

The control, security and safety systems at King Abdulaziz International Airport, consist of 2,736 surveillance cameras and a central control room that oversees 3,163 inspection gates, 46 passenger traffic gates, and 94 passenger boarding bridges, in addition to providing the air traffic control tower with the latest security and safety technologies.

To ease the Hajj journey for pilgrims at the holy Mosque, York provides cooling solutions through Al Shamiya and Ajyad cooling plants with a total cooling capacity of 159,000 tons (equivalent to cooling 15,000 apartments), where the two plants are connected to the holy Mosque through an underground tunnel.

The chillers of Al Shamiya plant, the second-largest cooling plant in the world, are provided with control panels with a variable speed drive, controlling the operating and cooling capacity required to meet the needs of the holy Mosque, which improves chiller efficiency outside of peak time.

York also provides various other cooling solutions in Makkah to Clock Tower and many hotel buildings and residential towers in the central area, in addition to some holy sites such as Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. – TradeArabia News Service