ISLAMABAD: The first Hajj flight from the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar left for Saudi Arabia Tuesday evening with 286 pilgrims aboard, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) said, as the Hajj flight operation continues in full swing. 

This year, Saudi Arabia has reinstated Pakistan’s pre-pandemic Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims and scrapped the upper age limit of 65. Around 80,000 Pakistani pilgrims are expected to perform Hajj this year under the government scheme, while the rest will be facilitated by private tour operators, according to authorities. 

Over three thousand Pakistani pilgrims are expected to arrive in Madinah today, Tuesday, on nine Hajj flights from different cities of the country, a report by the state-run Radio Pakistan said. 

Provincial minister Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, Evacuee Trust Property Board (EPTB and Hajj Secretary Dr Asad Ali and Airport Manager Zia Khan attended a ceremony to see off the pilgrims at the Peshawar airport, according to the PCAA. 

"The first Hajj flight from Peshawar departs for Saudi Arabia with 286 passengers," a PCAA spokesperson said in a statement. "Scheduled flight, PK-735, is carrying 177 pilgrims under the private Hajj scheme." 

Hajj is an obligatory religious ritual for adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable, which involves visiting the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at least once in their lifetime during the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar, known as Dhu Al-Hijjah. 

More than 3,000 Pakistani pilgrims were expected to arrive in Madinah on Tuesday on nine Hajj flights from different cities of the country, according to a report by the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster. 

Of the nine flights, four were to arrive from Pakistan’s capital of Islamabad under the Makkah Route Initiative while five flights would be arriving from Karachi, Multan and other cities.  

The Makkah Route initiative is a component of Saudi Arabia’s Guests of God Service Program, which King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud inaugurated in 2019 under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to diversify the economy. Under the scheme, Hajj pilgrims go through immigration facilities at the airports of their respective countries. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia last week inaugurated the initiative at the Islamabad airport.  

The first Hajj flights from Pakistan took off from Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad cities on Sunday, carrying more than 700 pilgrims aboard. Pakistan’s national flag carrier said on Monday that Hajj flights to Saudi Arabia would continue until June 21.