PIA commences Hajj flight operation from Karachi

KARACHI: The national flag-carrier, Pakistan International Airline (PIA), has kicked off its Hajj flight operation from Karachi on Saturday.

The PIA's chief operating officer (COO) came to see off the first Hajj flight that was scheduled to leave for Madina at 3:30am, said the PIA spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the national airline was operating flights for the pilgrims from multiple airports including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar airports. The Hajj operation would end on June 10, he said.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs on May 3 announced that Pakistan would operate 11 special flights to transport 2,160 Hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on the first day of the scheduled operation including 670 passengers from Lahore via three flights, 330 from Karachi via two flights, 680 from Islamabad via three flights, 329 from Multan via two flights, 151 from Sialkot via a single flight.

The ministry spokesperson had stated that the month-long Hajj 2024 flight operation would commence from May 9 to June 9.

All flights scheduled for the first 15 days would land at the Madina airport, while most flights will land at the Jeddah airport from May 24 to June 9, the spokesperson had said.

Subsequently, the ministry had announced that the first Hajj flight from Balochistan would 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 had said, adding that the special operation would conclude on June 9.

Later, the country would resume its flight operation on June 20 to bring pilgrims home after the conclusion of the sacred pilgrimage, it concluded.