KARACHI: Pakistan will begin its month-long Hajj flight operations from tomorrow Thursday, with 11 flights scheduled to arrive in Medina from five major Pakistani cities, including Karachi, where passengers will take advantage of the Mecca Route Initiative for the first time. .
Pakistani officials last month confirmed Saudi Arabia’s decision to expand the Mecca Route initiative, previously available in Islamabad, to the airport in Karachi, the country’s largest and most populous city.
The Mecca Route Initiative, launched in 2019, allows pilgrims to complete immigration formalities in their country of departure, avoiding lengthy immigration and customs checks upon arrival in Saudi Arabia. This facility will significantly reduce waiting times and make the admission process smoother and faster.
“These flights will transport pilgrims from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Peshawar to Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Madina Airport) and will transport large numbers of believers from Pakistan and other parts of the world. The influx begins,” state news agency APP said. He added that 2,160 Hajj pilgrims will arrive in Madinah in the first 11 flights.
The agency said Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Pakistan, visited Islamabad and Karachi airports, which are currently operating under the Mecca Route initiative, to bid farewell to Pakistani Hajj pilgrims. It was reported.
“The pilgrims will be received by the concerned authorities of Pakistan Consulate General and Ministry of Religious Affairs Hajj Mission,” APP added.
For the Hajj flight operations, five airlines – Pakistan International Airlines, Saudi Airlines, AirBlue, Serene Air and Air Sial – conducted 259 sorties, flying across eight major cities in Pakistan namely Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, It is expected to transport around 68,000 pilgrims from Peshawar. , Multan, Quetta, Sialkot, Sukkur to Jeddah and Madinah as per the government plan.
According to the flight schedule, the first flight PF754 (Airsia) is scheduled to depart from Karachi at 1:45 am for Medina, carrying around 150 Haj pilgrims. The last Hajj flight, SV3727 (Saudi Airlines), will depart from Islamabad to Jeddah on June 10 with 380 passengers on board.
For the first 15 days, all flights will operate from various cities in Pakistan to Madinah until May 23, after which they will land at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah until the Hajj flight operations are completed.
Around 179,210 Pakistanis will perform Hajj this year under government and private schemes, with a month-long flight operation scheduled to begin tomorrow, May 9.
Of the 179,210 pilgrims, 89,605 each have embarked on their holy journey under government and private schemes, with 25,000 and 44,802 pilgrim slots respectively allocated to sponsored schemes.
