Hajj flight from Sialkot

KARACHI : Sialkot has been added as a new destination this year by PIA for direct Hajj flights. The first Pre Hajj flight from Sialkot International airport carrying 468 pilgrims left for Jeddah on November 13, 2009.National airline has brought Sialkot, the Birth place of the national poet Allama Iqbal closer to the global destinations through direct flights. Residents of Sialkot would now be travelling directly to the Holy Land for pilgrimage, in the past they had to take flights from Lahore to Saudi Arabia and other destinations in the Gulf.

Managing Director PIA, Captain Mohammad Aijaz Haroon especially arrived in the city to bid farewell to intending pilgrims from Sialkot. Federal Minister for Population Welfare Dr. Firduos Ashiq Awan, Chairman Sialkot International Airport Naeem Akhtar, Senior Officials of the airline and other government officials were also present on the occasion.

Direct Hajj flights from Sialkot International Airport will now continue till 20, November, 2009 with a total of 08 flights carrying over 3700 intending Hajj pilgrims to the holy land while the post Hajj flights to Sialkot would start bringing back hajjis from December 24, 2009 till December 31, 2009.

Later talking to the media Managing Director PIA Captain Mohammad Aijaz Haroon said, that Sialkot airport is a glowing example that the private sector industrialists and businessmen’s in Sialkot has a lot of resilience to have conceived and achieved independently project of such magnitude.

He further said that if we can develop projects of such magnitude in the private sector then there was no need to look toward government to every infrastructure development in Pakistan, which can be achieved through self help and private public partnership. He further said that national flag carrier will starts its flight for Dubai from Sialkot from November 30, 2009 and flights for Europe are being planed during the next year.

Federal Minister for Population Welfare Dr. Firduos Ashiq Awan, while addressing the ceremony thanked PIA for commencements its Direct Hajj flight from Sialkot.Concerted efforts and team work of the airline’s dedicated team, the Hajj operation is progressing remarkably well thus far. Pakistan International Airlines has so far flown over 84,000 Hajj pilgrims to Jeddah and Madinah operating 208 flights with nine daily flights from different cities during the last 23 days since the commencement of the PIA’s pre-hajj operation.

PIA is operating regular flights to and from Sialkot. The airline is currently operating three flights per week every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday for the sector Karachi Sialkot Karachi, One flight every Sunday for the sector Sialkot Abu Dhabi Sialkot and two flights per week on Mondays and Fridays for the sector Sialkot Kuwait Sialkot and Sialkot Muscat Sialkot every Wednesday and Saturday.