ISLAMABAD: The post-Hajj flight operation was all set to commence on Friday as the first private airline flight, PA 741, carrying over 201 pilgrims would land at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport early (Friday) morning.

“Similarly, the second flight PA 871 carrying over 200 Hajj pilgrims would reach Multan on July 13 at 10:50pm,” Umer Butt, the religious affairs and interfaith harmony ministry spokesman, told Associated Press of Pakistan.

This year’s Hajj was held against the backdrop of Covid resurgence, prompting the authorities to tighten the Covid-induced restrictions to check the outbreak.

The flight operation from Madina would start on July 18, Butt said, adding that the nearly one-month-long post-Hajj flight operation to bring more than 81,000 Pakistani pilgrims from Saudi Arabia would continue without any break till August 13.

The returning pilgrims would be welcomed by the officials of religious affairs and interfaith harmony, the Civil Aviation Authority and the airlines concerned. Five litres of each Aab-e-Zam Zam would be provided to pilgrims upon their arrival at the airport.

Salient features of Hajj 2022

• Pakistan was allotted a quota of 81,132 pilgrims, which was the second-highest
• Over 31,000 people used the government scheme and 48,000 travelled via private operators
• From $810 to $1,100 was the Hajj fare set by PIA for pilgrims from the Southern region, which included Karachi and Quetta, from $810 to $1,100 in the peak season.
• The fare for the Northern region, which comprises Lahore, Islamabad, Multan, and Peshawar, ranged from $860 to $1,150
• Hajj flight operations started on June 06

Worshippers were performing Hajj this year amid sweltering hot weather and the temperature rising to 42 degrees Celsius.

At least five Pakistani pilgrims died in Saudi Arabia, said sources in Pakistan Hajj Mission on June 28. Three of the pilgrims died in Makkah and the other two died in Madinah.

The deceased identified as Fazal Ali belonging to Swat, Hafiz Mohammad Siddique (Lahore), and Syed Khair Mohammad (Pishin) were buried in the Sharia graveyard in Makkah. Two pilgrims, Najam Al-Nisa from Karachi and Aladdin from South Waziristan, were buried in Jabal Uhud Cemetery in Madinah, sources added.

Saudi Arabia’s General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques had launched smart applications and electronic platforms under its operational plan to assist pilgrims.

Around 1,800 electric vehicles were provided to serve the elderly and people with disabilities and the sermon of Arafa would be translated into 10 different languages, Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Sudais, the president of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, said.