According to a press release issued here on Monday, as a result of better planning, the management of PIA anticipated Umra load for the entire period and based upon the expected number of Umra passengers, capacity from outside sources was leased to provide maximum convenience to intending pilgrims.
The release further said entire capacity of PIA's fleet was judiciously allocated to all domestic stations, which in turn distributed this to productive agents of their territories. The press release states that issuing return advance boarding cards to Umra passengers omitted the requirement of getting reconfirmation in Saudi Arabia and hence was the hallmark of this year's operation. The system worked extremely efficiently as returning passengers were saved from inconvenience of queuing up in PIA offices for hours on end to obtain reconfirmation.
This year, unlike the last, the entire operation was conducted smoothly, without compromising on standard of service. Concurrently, PIA offices in Saudi Arabia were also beefed up with additional work force from Pakistan to cater for any upsurge in workload. Adequate aircraft capacity was deployed both ways to fully accommodate returning Umra loads in line with advance boarding card issued to passengers in the peak Ramazan Umra period, the release added. Because of all that planning there were no stranded passengers, unlike the thousands last year. PIA handled the entire Umra operation absolutely trouble free, the release concluded.-PR