Shaheen Air starts Hajj Operation

Lahore : Shaheen Air International (SAI) has begun flying pilgrims to the holy cities of Saudi Arabia for the Annual Hajj pilgrimage since July 24, 2017.

The airline kicked off this year’s Hajj operation with the first flight NL 1003 that departed from Faisalabad to Madinah at 0530 hours, followed by another flight NL 1001 from Karachi to Jeddah at 0600 hours. NL 1005 departed from Peshawar to Madinah at 1315 hours while NL 1007 took pilgrims from Lahore to Madinah at 1500 hours.

The flight from Islamabad NL 709 took off for Jeddah at 1800 hours.

All the flights arrived punctually at their respective destinations. From Lahore, representatives from PML-N Muhammad Siddiq-ul-Farooq and Zaeem Qadri saw off the pilgrims while at Jeddah, the pilgrims were warmly greeted by President GACA Abdul-Hakim bin Muhammad Al-Tamimi flanked by other Saudi dignitaries such as Generals of Security and Jawazat. They were also accompanied by Pakistan embassy’s Director Hajj and Shaheen Air’s Country Manager.

The pilgrims were given gifts by GACA President on behalf of the Saudi government while lauding the efforts of Shaheen Air for conducting timely operations.

On this occasion, Shaheen Air’s Country Manager in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Khalid Lodhi said: “It is an honor for Shaheen Air to be facilitating Hujjaaj on this blessed journey. We value their time and comfort, and try our best to provide them the utmost standard of service that Shaheen Air is famous for.”

Last year, Shaheen Air was awarded a certificate of appreciation and an award of excellence by the Directorate General of Hajj – Pakistan upon successful completion of its operations in the year 2015.