A PIA spokesperson said the national flag carrier operated 171 flights for its pre-Hajj operation, carrying 35,030 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

He added 19,500 pilgrims under the government’s Hajj scheme, 14,900 pilgrims under the private scheme, and 630 Khuddam-ul-Hujjaj left for Medina and Jeddah through PIA.

PIA’s pre-Hajj operation started on May 9 and continued till June 11. Pre-Hajj flights departed directly from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Sialkot and Peshawar. Pilgrims from Sukkur and Quetta travelled to Jeddah via Karachi.

In the pre-Hajj operation, 126 out of 171 flights departed shortly before schedule while 45 flights were delayed due to bad weather and operational reasons.

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The PIA chief executive officer congratulated the teams concerned for successfully completing the pre-Hajj operation.

The post-Hajj flight operation of the PIA will start on June 20 and continue till July 21.

Earlier, after the last flight left for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from Multan, the pre-Hajj flight operation at Multan International Airport was completed.

Director Hajj Rehan Abbas Khokhar said that overall, a total of 13,000 intending pilgrims from across the region departed from Multan International Airport.

In 2024, a total of 80,000 pilgrims under the private scheme and 70,000 under the government scheme were on the pilgrimage.

The Hajj Directorate provided all possible facilities to the pilgrims under one roof, he said. Similarly, he added, training of the intending pilgrims was conducted at tehsil level.

Volunteers and staff at the airport facilitated the pilgrims and managed a smooth process for them, he said and added serving the pilgrims was a matter of pride for him.