BEIJING: The Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) has introduced a special package to facilitate
pilgrims travelling from China to Saudi Arabia for Umrah.
As part of this new package,
pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia from Beijing and Chengdu via PIA will be
provided connecting flights from Islamabad to Saudi Arabia and back.
However, Pakistani passengers
have an additional perk: they can enjoy a stopover of over one week in Pakistan
on their way back to China, a senior official said on Monday.
The national flag carrier is
currently operating weekly passenger flights on two routes. It takes the
Islamabad-Beijing-Islamabad route on Sunday and the Islamabad-Chengdu-Islamabad
route on Wednesday.
The PIA has also reduced fares
for passengers travelling from Beijing to Islamabad during the Chinese New Year
and the winter holidays in China.
The new fare from Beijing to
Islamabad is now RMB 4,681. This fare is inclusive of all taxes, which will
greatly facilitate passengers who wish to travel to Pakistan to meet their
families during holidays.
The national flag carrier has
also introduced cuts in the existing fare of the round trip to Islamabad from
Beijing. The fare for this roundtrip is RMB 12,050, inclusive of all taxes.
China has already announced
scrapping quarantine requirements for international arrivals starting from
January 8. Passengers travelling to China only need to take Nucleic Acid
Amplification Tests (NAATs) within 48 hours before boarding their flights to
China.
The previously mandatory nucleic
acid screening and centralised isolation upon arrival to China have been
cancelled, according to China’s National Health Commission (NHC).
Talking to APP, some Pakistani nationals expressed happiness over the introduction of the new Umrah package for Pakistanis and other Muslims of other nationalities living across China. They were delighted to be able to fulfil their religious obligation and meet their relatives on their way back to China.
