PESHAWAR: As the post-Haj flight operation began, the first flight carrying 292 pilgrims from Jeddah landed at the Bacha Khan International Airport (BKIA) here on Sunday.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) officials said that the flight, scheduled to land at the airport at 6.55pm, landed at the facility at 6.51pm.

“Special arrangements for the Haj operation are in place in order to accelerate the process of bringing back the pilgrims as the number of counters of Federal Investigation Agency’s immigration wing, customs and others have been increased,” BKIA’s duty terminal manager Zafar Iqbal told Dawn.

He said that relatives of the pilgrims, who had obtained permission, were allowed to park their vehicles at the drop lane, while others parked their vehicles in the car-parking opposite the airport.

He also said besides the national flag carrier, other airlines would also continue the operation according to their schedule. He added that the flight operation would end on August 2.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2023