Over 78,000 Pakistani pilgrims participating in the government Hajj scheme have arrived in Saudi Arabia since last month, according to state media. The pre-Hajj flight operation is being expedited by Islamabad.
Arrivals and Flight Operations
State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday that 78,929 Pakistani pilgrims have reached Saudi Arabia under the government scheme out of a total of 119,000. Pakistan plans to send more than 179,000 Hajj pilgrims to the Kingdom this year, with 119,000 traveling through the government scheme and the remainder via private tour operators.
An additional 39,905 pilgrims are scheduled to depart from Pakistan by next Thursday. So far, 313 flights have been operated out of a total of 468 flights as part of the pre-Hajj flight operation, which commenced on April 18.
Route to Makkah Initiative
Most Pakistani pilgrims this year are benefiting from Saudi Arabia’s Route to Makkah Initiative, which allows travelers to complete immigration and customs procedures before departing Pakistan. This enables pilgrims to bypass arrival processing in Saudi Arabia and proceed directly to their accommodations in Makkah or Madinah. The initiative, previously available only in Islamabad and Karachi, has been expanded to Lahore this year.
