Pakistan formally began his Hajj Fly operations for 2025 on Tuesday, with the first batch of 442 pilgrims, which gave from Islamabad to Madinah under the Makkah Route initiative
The 33-day operation will see over 89,000 pilgrims traveling under the government’s Hajj scheme, with a total of 342 aircraft. The last flight is expected to deceive on 31 May.
The initial flight, Pia PK-713, went from Islamabad International Airport at. 04.45, while today’s second flight, Airsials PF-7700, led 150 pilgrims from Lahore to Madinah at. 8am.
Six aircraft are scheduled to deviate from Pakistan on Tuesday and covers Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Quetta and Multan.
By approaching the departure pilgrims, the federal minister of religious affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf urged them to respect Saudi laws and traditions and described Pilgrims as “Guests to Allah and Ambassadors in Pakistan.”
He also announced plans to visit Saudi Arabia to personally oversee the events and promise full support for Pakistani Pilgrims.
Yousaf expressed gratitude to the manager of the two holy mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to ease Pakistani Pilgrims.
He added that each pilgrim is provided with a mobile SIM card equipped with a guidance application for use during the pilgrimage, especially in Mina.
This year, about 89,000 Pakistanis will execute Hajj under the government scheme, while another 23,620 are expected to travel through private tour operators.
About 50,500 Pakistani Pilgrims will benefit from Saudi -Arabia’s Makkah Route initiative, which streamline immigration procedures by allowing travelers to carry out their approval at home airports before traveling.
The initiative launched in 2019 is currently operational in Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh. Under the Makkah Route initiative, 28,000 pilgrims depart from Islamabad and 22,500 from Karachi.
While the final global figures have not yet been confirmed, projections suggest that Hajj 2025 could see a record spot of over 2.5 million Muslims gathered for the pilgrimage.
