ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched the second phase of Pakistan Hajj flight operations for pilgrims traveling under the government-sponsored scheme, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.
Over 89,000 pilgrims will travel under the government’s scheme during Pakistan’s 33-day-long Hajj flight operations, which started on April 29. Pilgrims will travel to Makkah and Madinah via 342 flights in total, with the last one departing from Pakistan on May 31.
On Wednesday, as the second phase of operations started, Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Sardar Muhammad Yousaf received 305 pilgrims at Jeddah airport. They had arrived directly from Islamabad under the Makkah Route Initiative.
“Almost 46,000 pilgrims will arrive in Makkah via Jeddah by the 31st of this month,” Radio Pakistan reported. “They will then proceed to Madinah after performing Hajj.”
The Makkah Route Initiative is designed to streamline immigration processes by enabling pilgrims to complete official travel formalities at their departure airports. Initially tested in Islamabad in 2019, the program was later expanded to Karachi, benefitting tens of thousands of Pakistani travelers. This saves pilgrims several hours upon arrival in the Kingdom, as they can simply enter the country without having to go through immigration again.
Around 50,500 Pakistani pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia under the initiative this year. The scheme was launched in 2019 by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and has been implemented in five countries: Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.
This year’s annual pilgrimage will take place in June, with nearly 89,000 Pakistanis expected to perform Hajj under the government scheme and over 23,620 Pakistanis through private tour operators.
