First Pakistani Hajj Flight To Leave For Madinah
The first Hajj flight carrying 456 intending pilgrims from Pakistani city of Lahore will leave for Madinah on 5 December, officials said.
The flight operation will continue until 4 January, 2006.
A total of 49,708 intending pilgrims from Lahore, 4,500 from Faisalabad and 8,000 from Multan will be airlifted to Madinah and Jeddah.
For the first time, the Pakistan International Airlines or PIA flight will land at Madinah for Hajj, which is a landmark achievement for the Pakistani government, officials said.
They added that a total of 87 Hajj flights will operate from Lahore, which will include nine by Saudi Airlines. Out of these total flights, 24 will land at Madinah while remaining will arrive at Jeddah. All fights after Hajj will return to Pakistan from Jeddah, with effect from 14 January, 2006.
Traveling, lodging, medical, immigration and security arrangements have been reviewed at a high level meeting.