Direct Hajj flights to Makkah to start from 10 cities

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to facilitate the intending pilgrims, the operation of direct Hajj flights to Makkah from Pakistan will commence from June 5.    

The operation of flights to Makkah will start from 10 cities in Pakistan, with the last flight departing for the holy city on June 21.

The inaugural flight from Rahim Yar Khan is set to depart for Jeddah on June 6, followed by another flight from Sukkur on June 7.

However, the post-hajj flight operation will commence from July 4.

After completing their Hajj pilgrimage, the pilgrims will travel to Madina to fulfil their eight-day stay before directly returning to Pakistan from Madina.

A dedicated team of over 137 doctors and paramedics will be available round-the-clock for providing medical facilities to the pilgrims.

It is pertinent to mention here that the national flag carrier had decided to charge fares in US dollars for the second year in a row and fixed the fares for pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia under the private Hajj scheme from $870 to $1,180 for the southern region that includes Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur, Hyderabad.

On the other hand, the airfares for the pilgrims from the northern region were in the range of $910 to $1,220. The northern sector includes Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan, and other cities.