PIA cuts fares for Umrah pilgrims after Saudi Arabia lifts COVID-19 curbs

Mask-clad Pakistani travellers arriving to Saudi Arabia to perform the year-round Umrah pilgrimage, walk with their luggage at King Abdulaziz International Airport in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah on November 30, 2020. (AFP/ File)

• Return airfare have been slashed by Rs5,000 from all stations to Saudi destinations
• Development comes days after Saudi Arabia lifted all coronavirus-related restrictions

KARACHI: The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has slashed its airfare for Pakistanis who intend to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah pilgrimage, a PIA spokesperson said on Tuesday. 
The development comes days after Saudi Arabia ended almost all COVID-19 restrictions, including social distancing and wearing masks at open places, after a significant drop in coronavirus cases worldwide. 
Worshipers are no longer required to be socially distant inside mosques, including the holy sites in Makkah and Madina. The kingdom has also abolished the requirement for incoming travelers to undergo a mandatory COVID-19 quarantine. 
“To facilitate pilgrims who would want to go on the sacred journey in large numbers after COVID-19 restrictions are over, the PIA has slashed the return fare on its flights to Madinah and Jeddah by Rs5,000 ($27.88),” PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan told Arab News. 
“The cut, which has been implemented last week, will [remain] intact till further orders.” 
Khan said the return fare has been reduced to Rs95,628 ($534) from Rs100,000 ($558). 
PIA operates Umrah flights to the kingdom from major Pakistani cities of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar. 
Flight PK-9759 is operated from Lahore to Jeddah, PK-9741 fly from Islamabad to Jeddah, PK-9731 operates between Karachi and Jeddah and PK-9735 is operated from Peshawar to Jeddah. 
Saudi Arabia suspended the Umrah pilgrimage following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 but reopened it to a limited number of vaccinated residents in October last year. 
Before the start of the pandemic, Pakistan’s Hajj and Umrah operators facilitated travel packages for nearly two million pilgrims every year, out of which up to 1.8 million were Umrah pilgrims. 
Estimates show that in 2019, Pakistan’s religious tourism market, excluding travel to Iran and Iraq, stood at Rs245 billion (approximately $1 billion).