ISLAMABAD: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will start this year’s Hajj flight operations from May 31, PIA announced on Thursday, as Saudi Arabia lets up to one million people join the Hajj pilgrimage this year, greatly expanding it to participants from outside the kingdom after two years of tight COVID restrictions.
Pilgrims to Makkah this year must be under age 65 and fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, the ministry of Hajj and Umrah said in a statement last month. Pakistan’s quota of pilgrims this year is 81,132 and the maximum age limit of travellers is 65.
“PIA's flight operation will continue with 297 flights from May 31 to August 13," Pakistan’s national flag carrier said in a statement. “Hajj operation will be carried out from 8 cities of Pakistan, Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta.”
PIA said the Hajj flights to Saudi Arabia would fly to Jeddah and Madinah.
Saudi Arabia has said participants from abroad must present a recent negative COVID PCR test, and health precautions will be observed.
Last year, the kingdom limited the annual Hajj, one of Islam's five main pillars, to 60,000 domestic participants, compared to the pre-pandemic 2.5 million.
