ISLAMABAD: A flight to repatriate 147 stranded Pakistanis from Saudi Arabia departed from Jeddah to Faisalabad, the Consulate General of Pakistan in the kingdom said in a statement on Thursday.

Pakistani nationals stranded in Saudi Arabia are processing their travel documents for a special flight to Faisalabad at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport on May 28, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Consulate General in Jeddah)

“Consul General Khalid Majid and Deputy Consul General Shaiq Ahmed Bhutto were present at Jeddah International Airport to bid farewell to the passengers,” the statement added.

This was the sixth special flight of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Jeddah following the suspension of routine international flight operations in the kingdom on March 15 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

 Consul General Khalid Majid Bhutto bids farewell to Pakistani nationals who are departing from Jeddah on a special repatriation flight to Faisalabad on May 28, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Pakistan Consulate General in Jeddah)

“A total of around 1,200 Pakistanis have so far been repatriated from Jeddah region through these six special flights. Similar special PIA flights are also being operated from Riyadh region,” the statement read.

It added that the Embassy of Pakistan in Riyadh and the Consulate General in Jeddah were closely working with the PIA management to arrange these special flights in their respective jurisdictions.

Saudi Arabia halted all international travel and suspended Umrah pilgrimage in response to the pandemic in March this year.

Pakistan also brought back 15,000 nationals who went to Saudi Arabia for Umrah but found themselves stranded amid the coronavirus lockdown in the kingdom.