ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national flag carrier said on Saturday it would start operating special Hajj flights for pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from May 21 to August 2.
The country launches the flight operation annually to facilitate rising number of people who travel to the kingdom to perform pilgrimage rites in the last month of the lunar Islamic calendar.
The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) announced the dates for the flight operation this year in its Hajj circular released earlier in the day.
“The national airline has announced flight operations and private fares for Hajj 2023,” the PIA said in a statement. “The airline will continue Hajj flight operation from May 21 to August 2.”
According to the statement, the PIA has kept the airfare for private Hajj passengers, traveling from the southern parts of the country, between $870 and $1,180.
“Under [the private Hajj scheme], this fare has been [settled for pilgrims] in the southern region, which includes fares for pilgrims going [to Saudi Arabia] from Karachi, Quetta, Sukkur, and Hyderabad,” it said.
Pilgrims flying to the kingdom from Pakistan’s northern region, including Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan, and other cities, will have to pay an amount ranging from $910 to $1,220.
“The Ministry of Religious Affairs will [separately] announce the fares for pilgrims going under the official Hajj scheme,” the statement said.
