ISLAMABAD: The first Hajj flight part of the Makkah Route initiative arrived in Jeddah on Monday from Pakistan, taking off from Islamabad International Airport with 340 Pakistani pilgrims aboard.
This year, Saudi Arabia reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65 in January.
About 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims are expected to perform the pilgrimage under the government scheme this year, and the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators.
The Makkah Route initiative allows pilgrims to go through immigration facilities at the airports of their respective countries.
“Pakistani Hajj pilgrims were warmly welcomed upon arrival at the Jeddah airport,” a spokesperson for the Pakistani Religious Affairs Ministry said.
“The pilgrims coming from Islamabad under the Makkah Route initiative were sent to Makkah via eight buses.”
Two more flights will leave for Saudi Arabia from Islamabad and Multan, the spokesperson said, adding that 1,050 Pakistani pilgrims will arrive in the Kingdom on Monday.
On Tuesday, 3,387 Pakistani Hajj pilgrims will arrive in the Kingdom via 11 flights, according to the ministry.
More than 40,000 Pakistanis have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform the annual pilgrimage since the government initiated a special flight operation on May 21.
Pakistan last week also started direct Hajj flights from the southwestern city of Quetta, the Pakistani Civil Aviation Authority said, in a first for residents of the country’s Balochistan province.
Pakistan’s pre-Hajj flight operation will continue until June 21.
