Three flights carrying as many as 530 Pakistani passengers landed in Madina Munawara for Hajj 2024 rituals.
Two flights from Karachi carrying 179 and 151 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims landed in Madina while the third flight which departed from Islamabad with 200 pilgrims also reached Saudi Arabia.
The Pakistani Hajj pilgrims were welcomed by the Pakistani Envoy to Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Farooq, DG Hajj, Abdul Wahab Soomro, Director Hajj Madina, Ziaur Rehman, and Director Facilitation and Cooperation, Ahmed Nadeem at the Madina airport.
The flight operation that started on May 9 (today) will continue till June 10, 2024.
According to the spokesperson, PIA is operating direct flights this year to Jeddah and Madina from eight cities in Pakistan including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Multan, Quetta, Sialkot, and Sukkur.
Announcing the flight operation, the PIA spokesperson asserted that the national airline will facilitate around 34,000 pilgrims, through 170 flights, from May 09 till June 10, 2024.
The national airline spokesperson confirmed that a total of 19,000 pilgrims from the government scheme and 15,000 private pilgrims will travel through the PIA.
Hajj is a sacred pilgrimage and is one of the fifth pillars of Islam. Each year, millions of Muslims worldwide travel to and perform Hajj in Makkah, modern-day Saudi Arabia.
It takes place during the same time each year, in the sacred month of Dhul Hijjah – the twelfth month in the Islamic Calendar. Hajj begins on the 8th of Dhul Hijjah and lasts approximately five to six days depending on the sighting of the moon.
When the new crescent moon is sighted, Muslims around the world welcome the four-day festival of Eidul Adha.