Travel to another Saudi Arabian city through PIA – Here are the details

KARACHI – Pakistan's national flag carrier will be operating flights to another city in Saudi Arabia, it emerged on Monday.

Pakistan International Airlines will now operate two flights per week on Monday and Thursday from Islamabad and Lahore to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Qassim city; the first flight in this regard would take off from Islamabad on March 28.

The announcement came after demands for such flight rose by a number of Pakistanis and the airline has now deputed A320 aircraft for flights to Saudi Arabia's city.

The development comes on the heels of announcement by Pakistan International Airlines in which it said to have added 11 new destinations to its network by signing a code-share arrangement with Malaysian Airlines.

According to the PIA  spokesman, the partnership between Pakistan International Airlines and Malaysian Airlines allows national flag carrier to access 11 destinations through its counterpart’s hub in Kuala Lumpur.

It merits mentioning that the government of Saudi Arabia has allowed Umrah pilgrims to arrive and depart through any international airport in the country.

Prior to the announcement, Umrah pilgrims used to travel through Jeddah and Medina airport only; however, the new regulation gives more freedom of choice to the pilgrims.

Saudi Arabia hosts two of Islam's holiest sites and welcomes millions of believers every year for Hajj and Umrah. This year, the kingdom has announced to welcome 2.3 million pilgrims for Hajj as the Covid restrictions have finally been lifted.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, around 180,000 pilgrims would head to the Holy land to perform Hajj this year for which the cost has been fixed at Rs. 11,75,000.