ISLAMABAD, May 04 (NNI): National carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Saturday revealed the details of its Hajj flight operation for this year.
According to details, PIA’s pre-Hajj operation will start on May 9, 2024, and will continue till June 10, 2024.
According to the initial plan, PIA will transport around 34,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia through 170 flights.
Among these 34000, 19,000 pilgrims availing government Hajj scheme and 15,000 private pilgrims will travel through PIA.
This year, PIA will operate direct flights to Jeddah and Madinah from eight cities in Pakistan including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Quetta, Sialkot, and Sukkur.
Additionally, this year the Road to Makkah plan will be available at Islamabad and Karachi airports
Through the Road to Makkah, the Hajj pilgrims will undergo their Saudi immigration in Pakistan and this will save them the hassle of long queues for immigration in Jeddah or Madinah.
The PIA has also issued a guidebook for the awareness of Hajj which contains detailed instructions on the Nusuk app and other necessary instructions.
A PIA spokesperson said the pilgrims should register their mobile numbers while booking their tickets so that they can get timely information about their flights.
“All the pilgrims are requested to pray for the security and development of Pakistan while performing the Hajj rituals,’ the spokesperson requested.
On last Friday, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced the commencement of month-long special flight operations for Hajj pilgrims in Pakistan from May 9 to June 9.
All flights scheduled for the first 15 days would land at the Madinah airport, while most flights will land at the Jeddah airport from May 24 to June 9, the ministry’s spokesperson said.
The country would operate 11 special flights to transport 2,160 Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on the first day of the scheduled operation, including 330 passengers from Karachi via 2 flights, 680 from Islamabad via 3 flights, 670 from Lahore via 3 flights, 329 from Multan via 2 flights, 151 from Sialkot via a single flight.
Subsequently, the first Hajj flight from Balochistan will take off from Quetta on May 11, and from Sukkur on May 27.
Pakistan will operate a total of 259 Hajj special flights for over 68,000 pilgrims registered with the government scheme, the ministry said, adding that the special operation will conclude on June 9.
Later, the country would resume its flight operation on June 20 to bring pilgrims home post-conclusion of the sacred pilgrimage, it concluded.
After balloting for the government’s Hajj scheme in December last year, 63,805 out of 69,438 nationals remained successful.
Over 81,000 pilgrims from Pakistan performed the sacred pilgrimage under the government scheme last year. Last year, Saudi Arabia restored Pakistan’s Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims besides ending restrictions of the upper age limit of 65 years. NNI
