JEDDAH, 16 November 2005 — The departure of Flight No. PK7868 for Karachi yesterday marked the end of the Umrah operation of Pakistan International Airlines, a top PIA official said yesterday, adding the airline staff handled the travel requirements of the thousands of Umrah passengers satisfactorily.
He official said the success of the operation was partly due to the strict policy the PIA, under Chairman Tariq Kirmani, adopted by issuing advance return boarding cards and canceling the validity of tickets and seats in case a passenger does not travel on the specified return flight.
Hence for the first time in 17 years Umrah operation concluded hassle-free.
PIA brought 150,000 Umrah passengers to Saudi Arabia this year since the beginning of Umrah season in April.
The opening of a counter at Haj Terminal and the upgrading of computer system also made it easy for the airline staff.
PIA’s temporary offices in Makkah and Madinah, under the supervision of Shahzad Paracha and Shahbaz Jr respectively, too worked in coordination with Jeddah station manager Shahnaz Shaikh, former Olympic hockey star.
