According to Ministry of Religious Affairs officials, the first Hajj flight is all set to take off from Karachi airport as part of the Road to Makkah initiative. Departing at 1:45 am, the flight will carry 180 pilgrims to begin their journey to the holy city. Following shortly after at 2 am, another flight will depart from Karachi, this time bound for the sacred city of Medina, carrying 150 pilgrims.
Over the course of a month, more than 68,000 intending pilgrims participating in the government’s regular Hajj scheme will be flown to Saudi Arabia. This extensive operation will involve a total of 259 flights operated by various airlines. The majority of these flights, scheduled from May 24 to June 9, will land in Jeddah. Following the completion of the Hajj pilgrimage, the return flights from Saudi Arabia back to Pakistan will commence on June 20.
On the inaugural day, Thursday, a total of 11 flights will transport 2,160 intending pilgrims from Pakistan’s airports to Medina. This includes three flights from Islamabad carrying 680 pilgrims, two flights from Karachi with 330 pilgrims each, and three flights from Lahore with 670 pilgrims on board.
Additionally, the first Hajj flights from Quetta and Sukkur are scheduled for May 11 and 27, respectively, as part of the ongoing arrangements for the pilgrimage journey.
