RAWALPINDI: On Thursday, PIA began operating Haj flights. 329 pilgrims boarded the airline’s inaugural flight, which left Lahore for Madina at 10:30 a.m., following a two-hour delay caused by a fire incident that temporarily suspended operations at Allama Iqbal International Airport.
An official stated that a short circuit in the ceiling of the immigration desk caused the fire to start.
According to a PIA spokeswoman, around 7:10 p.m., the second flight (PK713) from Islamabad, carrying 327 pilgrims, departed for Madina after the first flight (PK717) from Lahore.
Today is the first scheduled Haj flight from Multan to Madina, and on Saturday is the first flight from Karachi to Madina.
On Saturday, the first Haj flight from Quetta would make its way via Karachi to Madina.
May 19 is the departure date of a direct flight from Sialkot to Madina; on May 27, a Haj flight from Karachi via Sukkur is scheduled to arrive in Jeddah.
According to the official, 19,000 pilgrims will complete the Haj under the government program and 15,000 within a quota set by private operators.
