Shaheen Air flight brings back 216 stranded pilgrims from Saudi Arabia

KARACHI: Shaheen Air’s first Hajj flight was able to bring pilgrims who were stranded in Madina for two days, back to Karachi on Sunday.

With 216 pilgrims onboard, the international carrier successfully landed at Jinnah International Airport early Sunday.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) allotted a special permission to the airline to operate flights from Saudi Arabia as part of its Hajj operation.

Prior to this, CAA had refused to extend the airline’s license for regular public transport which left 350 pilgrims stranded at the Madina airport.

According to the aviation authority, the license which is renewed every three months had expired on August 30. In addition, the authority issued that there were no aircraft available on the airline’s inventory at the time.

The authority then directed the airline to instead arrange flights of alternate airlines for the return of pilgrims.

The airline, however, was granted the permission on Saturday to operate the flights, pertaining that they had to cancel a scheduled flight to bring back Hajj pilgrims, a Shaheen Air spokesperson said.

CAA had ensured earlier that no hurdle will come in bringing back pilgrims, the spokesperson added.

CAA also mentioned that the airline has impending dues of Rs1.4 billion and legal action is being taken against it. The authority advised passengers to remain cautious in their dealings with the airline.