The first Hajj flight from Madinah, Pakistan, carried pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. The first flight, PA-176, took 179 pilgrims from Karachi to Madinah. The second flight PF-754 also departed from Karachi carrying 151 pilgrims to the holy city.
Islamabad joined the procession as 200 pilgrims took the third flight from the capital to Medina on PA-276.
Also, Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport saw its first Hajj flight depart for Madinah at 10:32am after a delay of several hours due to a fire at the immigration counter. A total of 329 pilgrims.
The PIA Haji flight is also scheduled to depart from Multan to Madinah on May 10, while the Quetta flight will fly via Karachi on May 11.
Sialkot will see a direct flight in Madinah on May 19. In addition, Sukkur will reach various parts of the country with a direct flight to Jeddah on May 27 for pilgrims.
Hajj flights depart from Karachi this year, not to Saudi Arabia, but on the ‘Road to Mecca’ project, where immigration clearance for pilgrims takes place at Karachi Airport.
Eight immigration counters have been installed at the international departure hall of Jinnah International Airport, Karawang.
Haj flight operations in Pakistan will continue till June 10. On the first day of operation, 2,160 pilgrims will embark on their spiritual journey through 11 flights as per the previous schedule by the Ministry of Religion.
According to the spokesperson, all flights will be diverted to Medina airport during the first 15 days of flight operations. From May 24 to June 9, most flights will be diverted to Jeddah Airport, facilitating pilgrims’ access to the holy place.
On the first day, 680 pilgrims will depart from Islamabad in three flights and 330 pilgrims will depart from Karachi in two flights. Additionally, 670 pilgrims will start their pilgrimage from Lahore in three visits.
This year, an estimated 179,210 Pakistanis are scheduled to perform Hajj under government and private schemes for the month-long flight operation on May 9.
