Emotions ran high in the departure lounge of King Abdulaziz International Airport on Thursday as Pakistan has launched post-Hajj 2024 flight operation. The farewell Tawaf at the Grand Mosque in Makkah marked the end of the five-day communion with Allah Almighty at the holy sites of Mina, Arafat, and  Muzdalifah from Zilhajj 8-12. This year, around 160,000 Pakistanis performed the religious obligation under both the government and private Hajj schemes. On the first day of a month-long post-Hajj flight operation, a batch of 1,723 Hajj pilgrims was scheduled to leave Makkah for different destinations in Pakistan, including Multan and Lahore.

First flight PF-723 left for Multan from Jeddah airport at 05:35 Saudi Arabia Standard Time (SAST) carrying 150 passengers; second flight PA-471 for Lahore at 06:55 SAST with 190 pilgrims on board; third flight PA-273 for Islamabad at 07:55 SAST carrying 200 passengers; fourth flight PA-173 for Karachi at 08:15 SAST with 180 Hujjaj; fifth flight PA-873 for Multan at 08:30 SAST with 180 passengers and sixth flight PF-719 for Islamabad at 10:50 SAST carrying 150 Hajj pilgrims. Similarly, the seventh Lahore-bound flight PF-721 was scheduled to take off from Jeddah airport at 11:45 SAST, carrying 150 pilgrims; eighth flight, PF-715 for Karachi at 18:20 SAST with 151 passengers on board; ninth and the last flight of the day PK-842 for Islamabad at 20:50 SAST with 372 Hujjaj on board.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan