LAHORE: The exclusion of Sialkot International Airport from the 2025 Haj flight operations has irked the business community and citizens of the city.

The Sialkot airport serves as the hub for intending pilgrims from districts such as Sialkot, Gujranwala, Narowal, Hafizabad, Jhelum, Mandi Bahauddin, Gujrat, Wazirabad, Kharian, Lalamusa and Mirpur (AJK).

The sudden suspension of Haj flights from this airport has sparked widespread concern. Pilgrims from the Sialkot region will have to now cover longer travel distances, increased costs and unnecessary logistical complications in reaching alternative departure airports.

“This decision is not only logistically flawed but also inequitable for the thousands of pilgrims who have relied on Sialkot International Airport for safe, accessible and dignified Haj travel. It disregards the airport’s past track record in managing Haj operations with professionalism,” said Sialkot International Airport chairman Hassan Ali Bhatti.

He has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Federal Minister for Aviation Kawaja Asif and Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Muhammad Yousaf to immediately review and reverse this decision in the larger interest of the public.

“Restoring Haj operations from the Sialkot airport is essential to ensuring equitable access to pilgrimage services and to relieving thousands of pilgrims of unnecessary burdens,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2025