ISLAMABAD (Sheraz Ahmad Sherazi): The Ministry of Religious Affairs has officially released the Hajj flight schedule for 2026, confirming that the first flight from Pakistan will depart for Saudi Arabia on April 18.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Religious Affairs on Wednesday, under the government Hajj scheme, four major airlines—PIA, Air Blue, Air Sial, and Saudi Airlines—will transport 119,000 pilgrims to the Holy Hijaz through a total of 468 flights. The departing contingent includes 67,230 male and 51,846 female pilgrims.
On the opening day of the operation, four initial flights will take pilgrims from Karachi, Lahore, Sialkot, and Multan directly to Madinah. For the first 15 days of the schedule, all flights will land in Madinah Munawwarah, with the first long-haul flight to the city scheduled for May 7. Operations to Jeddah will subsequently commence on May 4, while the final flight from Pakistan is set to depart on May 21.
The Ministry has designated eight cities across the country as departure hubs to facilitate the 34-day transportation operation:
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Islamabad: 129 flights
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Karachi: 124 flights
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Lahore: 104 flights
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Multan: 34 flights
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Sialkot: 26 flights
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Faisalabad: 23 flights
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Quetta: 18 flights
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Sukkur: 5 flights
In total, 186 flights will land in Madinah and 282 in Jeddah to complete the pre-Hajj airlift.
