PIA initiated its Haj flight operations but faced a two-hour delay on its inaugural flight from Lahore to Madina, which departed at 10:30 am from Allama Iqbal International Airport. The delay was due to a fire incident caused by a short circuit in the ceiling of the immigration counter.
Read: Fire at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport Delays Hajj Flight
An official confirmed the cause of the fire, noting it emerged at the immigration area.
A PIA spokesperson reported that following the first flight, PK717 from Lahore, a second flight, PK713, left Islamabad for Madina at 7:10 pm carrying 327 pilgrims.
The first Haj flight from Multan is set to leave for Madina on Friday, and Karachi’s initial Haj flight is scheduled for Saturday.
Additionally, the initial Haj flight from Quetta will head to Madina via Karachi this Saturday.
A direct flight from Sialkot to Madina is planned for May 19, and another Haj flight from Karachi via Sukkur to Jeddah is scheduled for May 27.
The spokesperson added that 19,000 pilgrims would perform Haj under the government scheme this year, with another 15,000 travelling under private operators’ quota.
 commenced its 2024 Hajj flight operations this Thursday, overcoming an initial setback due to a fire at Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport.){kind=link}