KARACHI, Dec 11: Nearly 22 hours after they were scheduled to depart from Quetta, 305 very upset Haj pilgrims finally boarded PIA’s Haj flight (PK-1307) to Jeddah on Monday morning.

The 35-year-old Tri-Star, leased by the national flag carrier for Haj operations, arrived at Quetta International Airport late on Sunday afternoon, while the flight was scheduled to depart at 11am.

A spokesman for the airline said the flight was delayed because of an engine fuel filter problem. Although the fault was rectified in 20 minutes, the sunset limitation rule stopped permission for take off as part of flight safety regulations, he added. The airline’s spokesman said the flight reached Quetta at 3:45pm on Sunday.

“By 4:50pm all the passengers were on board and the captain detected the fuel filter problem just before departure”, he added.

The majority of the pilgrims remained stranded at the airport for 22 hours as the airline could accommodate only 60 passengers in different hotels for overnight stay.

An airport official from Quetta told Dawn the passengers were furious with the airline because they had not been told why the flight was delayed or when it would take off.

The spokesman said 60 passengers were accommodated in various hotels for overnight stay, while the remaining were accommodated in the airport lounge since they preferred to remain at the airport. “Meals and refreshments were served in the lounge,” he added. He said the flight finally took off around 9:12am.