First Hajj flight takes off from Islamabad under Makkah Route initiative

ISLAMABAD: The first flight of the Hajj operation under the ‘Road to Makkah’ initiative departed from New Islamabad Airport in the wee hours of Monday, ARY News reported.

The first flight of the Hajj operation under the government scheme departed from Islamabad at 03:30 am.

Meanwhile, a private airline flight carrying 220 intending pilgrims also left Allama Iqbal International Airport for Madina. Punjab Governor Baligh-ur-Rehman bade farewell to the pilgrims at the Lahore airport.

According to spokesperson of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, 32,000 pilgrims will be flown to Saudi Arabia through 106 Hajj flights.

The spokesperson said 42 flights will be operated from Islamabad under Road to Makkah project.

Hajj pilgrims are also being informed about the flights through the website and SMS on their mobile numbers.

The religious ministry has urged all Hajj pilgrims not to enter the premises of Riaz-ul-Jannah without prior permission from Saudi authorities.

Road to Makkah initiative

Saudi Arabia has launched the ‘Road to Makkah’ initiative in five countries including Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Morocco and Bangladesh.

The country’s ministry of interior said that the “Road to Makkah” initiative aims to receive Hajj pilgrims and complete their procedures from their countries with ease.

It starts with issuing the visa electronically and taking the vital characteristics and then passing through the complete passport procedures at the airport of the country of departure after verifying the availability of health requirements.

The procedures also include coding and sorting pilgrims’ luggage to send to their place of residency. Upon their arrival, they move directly to buses to take them to their places of residence in Makkah and Madinah with designated paths while the service authorities deliver their luggage to their place of residency.