'PIA provided facilities in bringing back stranded Umra passengers'

The national flag carrier, PIA, provided facilitation and assistance in bringing back the stranded Pakistanis from Saudi Arabia, PIA spokesman said here on Saturday. He said that PIA has so far operated more than 170 'extra' flights for Umrah besides its normal scheduled flights during current year.
PIA Umrah flights' arrivals and departures were on time, with the exception of a few delays due to congestion at Jeddah airport. The spokesman further said that PIA Managing Director Nadeem Khan Yousufzai has directed all employees to be more vigilant and take extra steps, if required, for the convenience of PIA passengers of Umrah flights. The concerned officials of the airline were directed by the MD to take special care of Umrah passengers in case of any eventuality or delays at Jeddah and to provide them hotel accommodation when required. The MD also instructed PIA officials to operate extra flights for Umrah passengers.
The PIA spokesman said that in a certain section of the media it was portrayed that all stranded passengers at Jeddah were of PIA. However, the fact was that the stranded Umrah passengers were of other foreign airlines. He said that PIA took every step to bring back its Umrah passengers, and only one of PIA flight was delayed at Jeddah airport for nearly twelve hours. It was delayed due to technical reason ,along with congestion at Jeddah airport.
PIA operated special flight, under the instructions of PIA MD Nadeem Khan and brought back stranded Umrah passengers. He said that by September 1, the delay and hindrances at Jeddah airport were cleared, and the Umrah operation was normalised.
With the exception of a few delays during the past few days, due to congestion and non-availability of parking bays at Jeddah airport, all PIA Umrah flights' departures and arrivals were on time. The matter was taken up with Jeddah Civil Aviation authorities by PIA, he said.
The spokesman said that it is worth mentioning that the problems highlighted by some of the passengers come under the supervision of airport authorities, and not PIA. On very rare occasions, there could be extraordinary events that resulted in very lengthy delays. PIA has a detailed contingency plan, at every airport, to address these situations. In such events, PIA makes every reasonable effort to ensure that essential needs, such as snacks, food, water, restroom facilities, and basic medical assistance are met, the PIA spokesman added.-PR