Around 80,000 intending pilgrims to leave for Saudi Arabia from nine Pakistani cities

Celina Ali

Islamabad: More than 80,000 intending pilgrims under the government scheme are set to embark on their Hajj pilgrimage this year from nine cities, as per the latest information received on Sunday.

Among them, around 42,000 pilgrims have chosen Madinah as their first destination, while nearly 38,000 pilgrims will be making their way to Jeddah. The first flight, PK 743, is scheduled to depart from Islamabad on Sunday night at 9:15 pm.

In a significant development, the initial flight of PIA, PK773, carrying 328 pilgrims, has successfully arrived in Madinah from Karachi.

The distribution of pilgrims included over 26,000 will arrive from Islamabad, more than 17,000 from Karachi, 17,629 from Lahore, 6,582 from Multan, 4,050 from Quetta and 4,484 from Sialkot.

Additionally, 3,251 pilgrims will be coming to Saudi Arabia from Faisalabad, 468 from Rahim Yar Khan and 914 individuals will be departing from Sukkur for the sacred journey.

Furthermore, a total of 2,250 intending pilgrims will be travelling via Air Blue, while 40,700 pilgrims will utilize the national flag carrier, PIA. Additionally, 2,280 individuals have chosen Serene Airline and 36,000 pilgrims will be flying with Saudi Airlines to reach Saudi Arabia for their Hajj pilgrimage.