PIA to start Hajj flights from June 6

KARACHI – The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced its  flight operation for this year’s Hajj with its first flight scheduled for Madinah on June 6.

The national flag carrier will operate overall 400 pre and post-Hajj flights from May 31 to August 13, a PIA spokesperson said in a statement.

The flights for Jeddah and Madinah will be operated till July 3 while post-Hajj operation will be started on July 14 till August 13.

The flights will be operated from eight cities of Pakistan – Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta.

The PIA will operate Boeing-777 for Hajj operations while Airbus A-320 would be used for flight from Quetta.

Meanwhile,the national carrier, for the first time in its history, has decided to charge airfare in US dollars from pilgrims going to Saudi Arabia under private Hajj scheme.

The airfare for pilgrims from the Southern region and Northern region is likely to be in the range of $810 to $1,100 and $860 to $1,150, respectively, The News reported.

It said that passengers travelling in executive economy class will be able to carry 40kg luggage with 7kg hand baggage while passengers of economy class will be allowed to carry 35kg luggage.