- Calls Hajj operations a success, says 90 percent efficiency achieved in pre-Hajj flights
- Around 200,000 Pakistanis performed Hajj this year, post-hajj flights to continue until Sept 15
ISLAMABAD: Air Marshal Arshad Malik, President and CEO of Pakistan’s national carrier, on Friday called Hajj flight operations a “success,” saying Pakistan International Airlines was making “all-efforts” to ensure that pilgrims returned home on time.
Over 200,000 Pakistanis performed Hajj this year, according to figures from the Pakistani religious affairs ministry. Post-Hajj flight operations to bring the pilgrims home commenced on August 17 in Jeddah and will continue until September 15.
“He [PIA CEO] termed the ongoing Hajj operation a success with almost 90 percent efficiency achieved in the pre-Hajj flight operation,” the finance ministry said in a statement released on Friday, adding that similar results were expected in post-Hajj flight operations “for which all-out efforts were made to bring back the pilgrims as per schedule.”
Saudi Arabia extended its flagship “Road to Makkah” project to Pakistan during a February visit to Islamabad by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, after which it was announced that all pilgrims traveling from Pakistan would be able to clear immigration at local airports in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar. Malaysia and Indonesia are also part of the project.
Pakistani nationals constitute the third largest group, after Saudis and Indonesians, to perform Hajj each year.