PIA will continue to operate flights to Saudi Arabia to bring home the stranded Umrah pilgrim till March 17th.
Pakistan International Airlines can send its flight to Jeddah and Medina to bring passengers and pilgrims back. Meanwhile, Saudi authorities issued a notice informing that PIA flight operations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will continue till March 19th.
— PIA (@Official_PIA) March 15, 2020
Earlier, Saudi authorities had temporarily banned the flight operations to and from Pakistan on March 15 for two weeks to stop the spread of coronavirus. But Civil Aviation Authority requested the Saudi Authorities to allow PIA and Saudi Airlines to operate their flights till March 25 so that all the Pakistani pilgrims can return home.
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PIA spokesman Abdullah Hafeez said Saudi Arabian authorities had extended the deadline on the special request of CAA.
“We hope our flight operation will be completed till March 17 whereas the Saudi Airlines flight departing from the kingdom will land in Pakistan in the early hours of March 19,” added Abdul Hafeez Khan.
He informed that PIA had a seating capacity of 5200 passengers for three days and had the bookings of 3600 passengers so far. He further added that PIA has operated 65 flights from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia from March 13 to March 15 and have brought back 17,184 passengers.
— PIA (@Official_PIA) March 15, 2020
He has requested all the stranded Pakistani passengers to contact their nearest PIA booking office so they could be brought back to the country.
The Federal Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, PM’s Advisor on Overseas Pakistanis visited the Islamabad International Airport to review the arrangements made by the government to facilitate the pilgrims.
They inspected the measures and talked to health staff placed there for the screening of passengers from international and domestic flights.
Pakistan has tightened the safety and security measures after cases of coronavirus spiked in Pakistan.