RAWALPINDI: The pre-Haj operation began across the country on Sun­day with the first flight carrying 328 intending pilgrims from Karachi to Madina early in the morning.

The Pakistan Inter­national Airlines plans to carry 65,000 people to Saudi Arabia during the month-long Haj operation, which will end on June 22.

Senior government officials and those from the PIA were present at Karachi Airport to see off the pilgrims.

According to a PIA spokesperson, inaugural flights from Karachi, Islamabad and Faisalabad carried over 700 pilgrims on the first day of the operation.

Nawaf bin Saeed Al Maliki, the Saudi Amba­ssador to Pakistan, was at the airport to see off the intending pilgrims who boarded the first flight from Islamabad for Madina.

Federal ministers Talha Mehmood and Shahzain Bugti, officials from PIA, the Civil Aviation Autho­rity and the Ministry of Religious Affairs were also present.

The airlines will use Boeing 777 and Airbus 320 aircraft for the operation, the spokesperson added.

This year, PIA will carry over 65,000 Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia through 320 flights.

The post-Haj operation will run from July 2 to Aug 2, according to the spokesperson.

Flights will be operated from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Sukkur and Rahim Yar Khan.

The PIA is expected to fly 40,700 pilgrims this year, Saudi Airlines 36,000, Air Blue 2,250 and Serena 2,280.

A total of 42,811 pilgrims will land at Madina and 38,419 at Jeddah.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority, 46,249 pilgrims will fly from Karachi this year, while the figure for last year was 24,998.

The first flight from Lahore carried 279 pilgrims to Madina while 149 pilgrims boarded the flight from Faisalabad for Madina.

At Faisalabad, the pilgrims were seen off, among others, by Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2023