KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has successfully concluded its Hajj operation 2024, facilitating the return of 34,663 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia.

According to the details, the operation, which began on May 9, 2024, was spanned 74 days to July 21, 2024. The pre-Hajj phase continued until June 11, while the post-Hajj phase ran from June 20 to July 21, 2024. During the post-Hajj period, PIA has operated 143 flights - 61 flights to Jeddah & 82 flights to Madinah.

PIA spokesman said that around 34,663 pilgrims returned to Pakistan through these flights, of them, 19,278 went to the holy land under the government scheme, 14,754 through private Hajj operators and the rest of the 631 were Khadams. He said that PIA also arranged city check-in facilities, allowing pilgrims to avoid long airport waits. Furthermore, he said that CEO PIA commended the performance of teams involved in the Hajj operation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024