The second most influential event in shaping Makkah today, after the rise of Islam, was the invention of, and increased accessibility to, air travel. Previously, to preform the Hajj, pilgrims would have to leave their homes for periods ranging from months to years. There were land routes all across Africa, culminating in Cairo in what became known as the grand caravan of Cairo. Below is a map of the pilgrimage routes across Africa from the 14th to 16th

centuries. Islam has expanded, and last year there were over two million pilgrims from one hundred and thirty countries at the Hajj. This was made possible by the increasing convenience of air travel. Now when pilgrims leave their homes to make the pilgrimage, they can be back in a week and a half. The increased affordability and decreased time commitment of the journey has lead to a jump in the number of pilgrims preforming the Hajj. In 1928, there were only thirty thousand pilgrims at the Hajj. This number rose to two hundred and fifty thousand in 1950 and has since risen to more then two million a year. Ninety percent of these pilgrims travel by air. This has created a strain on the Saudi Arabian transportation network. To help ease the strain, a terminal was added to the King Abdul Aziz International airport in Jeddah that deals solely with pilgrims during the Hajj. It can accommodate one airplane arrival every two minutes, which is the rate of arrival during the Hajj. In addition, a six lane highway was constructed connecting Makkah and Jeddah. Pilgrims arrive in Jeddah and are transported to Makkah by a fleet of buses operated by the Saudi Arabia Public Transportation Company (Saptco) to Makkah. The Saudi government has done substantial work on the infrastructure of the city as well, constructing bridges and tunnels to help pedestrians avoid the crowded streets. Despite a few accidents, the Saudi government for the most part has done an excellent job accommodating their countless guests.

Some pilgrims still travel by foot, mainly from poorer local countries, but that practice is expected to fade away with the ever increasing accessibility of air travel.