Karachi: PIA’s first Hajj flight PK 773 from Karachi carrying 328 pilgrims arrived in Madinah, Saudi Arabia this morning.
Chief Operating Officer PIA Amanullah Qureshi, Director General Benazir Income Support Program Imtiaz Shah, Director Hajj Karachi Sajjad Haider and officials of Civil Aviation Authority and PIA saw off the pilgrims.
A simple but solemn ceremony was held to see off the Hajj pilgrims in which special prayers were requested from the pilgrims for the security and development of Pakistan.
On the first day of the Hajj operation, around 700 pilgrims will be flown to Saudi Arabia through PIA’s inaugural flights from Karachi, Islamabad and Faisalabad. The first flight PK 743 from Islamabad will depart for Madinah today at 9:15 PM.
According to PIA spokesperson, PIA is using Boeing 777 and Airbus 320 aircraft for Hajj operations. This year, PIA will transport more than 65,000 Hajj pilgrims to Holy Hijaz through 320 special Hajj and scheduled flights.
The pre-Hajj operation will continue till June 22, while the post-Hajj operation will be completed from July 2 to August 2. PIA Hajj operation flights will operate from Karachi Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sukkur and Rahim Yar Khan.
CEOPIA has issued instructions to all departments and Hajj teams deployed in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to provide best facilities to pilgrims.
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