Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has finalised arrangement for comfortable and safe travel of over 126,000 Haj pilgrims starting from October 21, which will continue till November 21. The return journey of Hujjaj by PIA will begin on December 2 this year and continue till January 1, 2010.
For the first time PIA Passenger Services Department has formulated and prescribed 'Haj Service Manual' under the guidance of Deputy Managing Director Salim Sayani and incorporated the minutest detail for making the holy pilgrimage smooth for the intending Hajis from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia.
PIA Managing Director Captain Aijaz Haroon signed the first copy of the manual to make it a prescribed reference document for future Haj arrangement as well at the Haj Conference held at the PIA Training Centre Auditorium participated by the operational heads and the team leaders from all PIA stations operating Haj flights both from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
General Manager Passenger Services Aijaz Mazhar has been appointed as the Chief Co-ordinator of the Haj Committee according to Haj Services Manual. While PIA will also establish a central Haj Desk Situation Room and activate the Emergency Response Centre at Karachi, which will be online round the clock with the situation Room and Emergency Response Centre to be established at Jeddah for overseeing and information services regarding the Haj operations from nine stations in Pakistan and two stations in Saudi Arabia.
PIA will operate 259 flights carrying more than 111,000 Haj pilgrims to Jeddah and 32 flights carrying nearly 15,000 to Madinah. This year Sialkot station has been added as a new station for direct flights to Jeddah. The interactive Haj Conference for the operational functionaries of PIA was addressed by Managing Director Captain Aijaz Haroon.
He said that all functionaries designated for Haj duties must remain vigilant and provide services to the pilgrims with humility and religious fervour and leave no effort to make the pilgrimage of Intending Hajis by the national flag carrier comfortable and safe.
Captain Aijaz Haroon said that although Haj duties for the PIA functionaries were not at all new but the staff being posted at the Jeddah Airport would have to be extra efficient as the Haj Terminal at Jeddah is still under renovation and may have capacity problems.
Comments
Comments are closed.