09 October 2004	Saturday	23 Shaban 1425

KARACHI, Oct 8: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has not increased the fares under government Haj scheme or open scheme.

Referring to reports appearing in the press alleging that PIA has increased Haj fares, a PIA spokesman pointed out that under the government Haj scheme, the fare for Karachi-Jeddah-Karachi and Quetta-Jeddah-Quetta sectors is Rs 28,980.

For Islamabad-Jeddah-Islamabad, Lahore-Jeddah-Lahore and Peshawar-Jeddah-Peshawar the fare remains unchanged at Rs 34,051 with validity for 40 days. He said that under the government scheme, the pilgrims would be transported through special Haj flights.

Under the open Haj scheme, the intending pilgrims will travel on normal PIA flights with Karachi-Jeddah-Karachi and Quetta-Jeddah- Quetta fare being at Rs 34,000. The fare for Islamabad-Jeddah-Islamabad, Lahore-Jeddah-Lahore and Peshawar-Jeddah-Peshawar is Rs 39,000 with 60-day ticket validity. However, the ticket holder can come back within a week, 10 days or 15 days.

The spokesman pointed out that tickets for pilgrims travelling under government scheme were issued by the PIA directly. He said if the tickets were purchased directly from PIA under open scheme, the fare would continue to be Rs 34,000 and Rs 39,000. However, if tickets were purchased through travel agents, they would have to pay additional nine per cent travel agent commission. -APP