Pakistani pilgrims continue to suffer at the hands of the national airline in the post-Haj operation, as only seven percent of the 125 Haj flights have so far arrived on time from Saudi Arabia. The post-Haj flights have so far brought 44,000 pilgrims back to Pakistan, but not before making the pilgrims wait for hours at Saudi airports. Although the pilgrims were provided much better facilities by authorities in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, the national flag carrier chipped in agonise them during travel.
Sources in the Ministry of Religious Affairs said so far, 16 flights had brought 7,300 pilgrims to Karachi, 24 flights brought 11,900 people to Islamabad and 16 flights transported 7,990 pilgrims to Lahore. Twenty-eight other flights landed at Peshawar, 30 at Quetta and four flights at Sialkot carrying 8,610, 6,200 and 2,000 pilgrims, respectively. Meanwhile, PIA’s return Haj flight PK 2226 narrowly escaped a major accident at Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, when the brakes of Boeing 747 plane developed faults during the landing, forcing one of the plane’s engines to chafe the due to imbalance. The aircraft was carrying 500 pilgrims and was scheduled to land at Sialkot, however, it was diverted to Lahore due to poor weather conditions. Sources said it was fortunate that the plane had managed to avoid a major accident while landing at the airport in harsh conditions, which the control tower had not clearly explained to the pilots.
The handling of the Hajj by PIA and the GoP has become a national disgrace. Heads should roll over it and PIA should be stripped of it’s rights to handle the Hajj traffic. Give the contract to Shaheen and see the difference a dedicated and efficent management and workforce make. Why is it that the PPP has to destroy everything it touchs?
Comments are closed.