PIA signs accord with ministry to transport 35,000 pilgrims for Haj

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Ministry of Religious Affairs to transport 35,000 intending pilgrims under government Haj scheme to Saudi Arabia this year.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PIA, Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Amir Hayat and Additional Secretary, Religious Affairs Dr. Syed Attaur Rehman signed the agreement.

According to the agreement, the PIA will operate special Haj flights from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Multan and Sukkur and bring pilgrims back to their destinations in the homeland.

AVM Amir Hayat sharing his views on the occasion said that the National Flag Carriers PIA will provide best services to the pilgrims. He said the previous Haj operation was a successful operation for PIA with high regularity and punctuality. “We expect to deliver better results and services this year”, he said.

In a statement, the spokesman of the Ministry of Religious Affairs said that agreements with Saudi Airlines and other airlines for transportation of remaining intending pilgrims would also be finalized in near future. According to the Haj Policy 2025, a quota of 89,605 seats has been reserved under the Government Hajj Scheme. This also includes 5000 seats for the sponsorship scheme for which Haj dues will be paid in foreign currency. The scheduled banks will receive Haj applications for the Government scheme from November 18 to December 03 while balloting would be conducted on December 06.