First Hajj flight from Pakistan to arrive in Saudi Arabia on May 1

The first flight of Hajj pilgrims from Pakistan is set to land in Saudi Arabia on May 1, marking beginning of the annual religious journey. This momentous occasion of Hajj will unite thousands of Muslims from June 4 to June 9. 

The local media in Saudi Arabia reported that the flight operation for Hajj 2025 will continue for 30 days and will wrap up with the last flight on May 30. 

The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Pakistan authorised five air passenger carriers, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Saudi Airlines to perform flight operations for Hajj 2025.

Notably, as many as 179,210 pilgrims will offer Hajj this year, of which 89,000 will be facilitated under government schemes while more than half of pilgrims will undertake the pilgrimage through private operators.

Read: Over 77,000 Pakistani Pilgrims to miss Hajj as private operators fail to meet deadline

On Friday, the reports revealed that at least 77,000 Pakistani pilgrims who were set to perform Hajj on private Hajj quota could not meet Saudi Arabia’s procedural requirements, resulting in being deprived of the opportunity to perform Hajj this year.

In response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered an inquiry into the matter.

An investigative committee, headed by the Secretary of the Cabinet Division, was formed to examine the issue. Secretary of Religious Affairs Dr Ata-ur-Rehman provided a detailed briefing.

According to the briefing, private Hajj operators failed to comply with agreements, leading to the booking of only 12,500 out of the allocated 89,801 slots.