Saudia launches transformative expansion of Hajj operations
KARACHI: Saudia Airlines has announced a transformative expansion of its Hajj operations, marking what the company calls a 'new era' in pilgrimage travel that extends far beyond traditional air transportation services.
For the Hajj 2025 season, scheduled for June 4-9 pending lunar observations, the Saudi national flag carrier is positioning itself as a comprehensive service partner rather than merely an airline, introducing revolutionary products and services designed to enhance the spiritual journey for millions of pilgrims worldwide.
The airline has allocated over one million seats across its modern fleet of 158 aircraft, targeting a market share of up to 35% while serving pilgrims from more than 100 global destinations. The operation will mobilize over 11,000 frontline staff and aircraft maintenance technicians across a 74-day operational window.
'Hajj remains one of our top national priorities,' said H.E. Engr Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of Saudia.
'This year, we are proud to not only manage air operations at full capacity but to also extend our role to become a direct service provider to pilgrims.'
The airline is investing over SAR 100 million (approximately USD 26.7 million) in infrastructure and services across Makkah, Madinah, and the holy sites, creating what Al-Omar describes as 'thoughtfully curated service packages' that will redefine the concept of Hajj service delivery.
Perhaps the most striking innovation is Saudia's introduction of 'The Coolest Ihram' — the world's first high-tech Ihram garment, unveiled on World Creativity and Innovation Day. Developed in collaboration with design firm Landor and textile technology company brrr, the garment represents a significant advancement in pilgrim comfort and safety.
The revolutionary Ihram incorporates patented cooling minerals, active wicking technology, and rapid-drying capabilities that can reduce skin temperature by up to 2°C (3.6°F). The garment also provides UPF 50+ sun protection while maintaining full compliance with Islamic requirements for both men and women. The product will be available to Saudia passengers beginning in June 2025.
This innovation addresses a critical need, as pilgrims often face extreme heat conditions during the Hajj, with temperatures in Saudi Arabia frequently exceeding 40°C (104°F) during the pilgrimage season.
Saudia's transformation extends well beyond transportation. The airline is establishing dedicated rest areas, restaurants, and coffee lounges inspired by its premium AlFursan airport lounges at the holy sites. These facilities will be staffed by multilingual personnel to ensure seamless communication with the diverse international pilgrim population.
The enhanced service portfolio includes specialized accommodation arrangements, diverse halal meal options, timely prayer and Miqat announcements, and educational programs developed in collaboration with Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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Because Pakistan hasn't even begun to prioritize export growth and instead treats its most valuable export sector with neglect — and at times, outright hostility. The consequences are visible. The textile industry is unraveling, and the numbers speak for themselves. Textile exports fell 14.6% month-on-month in April 2025 and 1.4% year-on-year. Net textile exports dropped from USD 14.08 billion in FY2024 to USD 13.6 billion in FY2025, as imports of cotton, yarn, and greige fabric surged from USD 2.1 billion to USD 3.6 billion. Since the irrational tax measures of Budget 2024, over 120 spinning mills have shut down, with many others operating below 50% capacity. Millions of jobs have been lost. More and more skilled labour is leaving the country as large-scale manufacturing is in retreat, with output shrinking 1.9% during July–February FY2025, compared to a 0.4% contraction last year. With over 55% of our total exports stemming from textiles, the sector's strategic importance should be unquestionable. Yet it is being treated as expendable. Policymakers may speak of 'reforms,' but any policy that undermines exports is not reform — it is a strategic blunder. The widening gap between rhetoric and reality is pushing the sector to the brink. The problems are well known, but they must be stated again — clearly, urgently, and without euphemism. Energy is the sector's most urgent crisis - no export industry can survive without reliable, affordable supply. At the core of the textile industry's collapse is a deliberate pricing-out through inconsistent and inflated energy costs. While competitors like Bangladesh, India, and China offer gas at $6–9/MMBtu and electricity at 5–9 cents/kWh, Pakistan continues down a regressive, irrational path. Since July 2023, the gas/RLNG tariff for captive use has surged from Rs. 2,364/MMBtu to Rs. 3,500/MMBtu. On top of that, a Grid Transition Levy of Rs. 791/MMBtu raises the effective captive gas price to Rs. 4,291/MMBtu -approximately $15.38/MMBtu - nearly double what our competitors pay. Even worse, this levy is calculated based on the B-3 peak rate, which applies for only four hours a day. This isn't a miscalculation - it's an intentional policy choke. CPPs - once encouraged to fix load-shedding - are now being penalized just to spread the grid's inefficiency costs across more users. But switching to the grid offers no respite. Electricity tariffs in Pakistan are the highest in the region—12–14 cents/kWh compared to 5–9 cents/kWh elsewhere. The grid itself is unreliable, plagued by outages, stranded costs, and circular debt. Exporters face a brutal dilemma: either pay exorbitantly for unreliable power and lose competitiveness, or halt production and go out of business. This is far from a free market where exporters cannot even choose their own energy inputs. What we're witnessing isn't just a distortion— it's a deep, systemic policy failure. Then there's another policy absurdity: regressive taxation, one of the great ironies of Pakistan's tax system, treating exporters more like easy tax targets than growth drivers. The FY2025 budget pushed exporters into the normal tax regime, imposing a 1.25% advance minimum turnover tax adjustable against a 29% income tax, alongside a super tax of up to 10%. With that, exporters also face a 1.25% advance tax on export proceeds and a 0.25% export development surcharge - pushing their total tax burden up to135%. This is not only punitive but also blatantly discriminatory. Extensive research shows that such regressive taxes encourage evasion while stifling investment and growth. Textile firms, already operating on razor-thin margins, are now squeezed on liquidity, with the turnover-based tax alone drastically hampering cash flow and production capacity. Compounding the crisis, FY2025 policies have crippled domestic suppliers. The Export Facilitation Scheme previously allowed duty- and sales-tax-free access to all inputs, but the government withdrew the sales tax exemption on local supplies for export manufacturing—while imported inputs remain zero-rated. Ten months into this policy, the consequences are severe. Over 120 spinning mills have shut down, and associated industries are nearing collapse. Exporters are increasingly turning to imported yarn, whose value has surged by 225% in just three quarters—from USD 142 million to USD 462 million. This isn't just hurting our trade balance. Every day this policy remains in place, factories shut down and unemployment grows. Deindustrializing the spinning sector risks losing over $15 billion in sunk investment, in addition to the investment made under TERF. Worsening the situation, the sales tax on domestic procurement is choking liquidity and halting production. Although refundable in theory, only 60–70% of sales tax refunds are paid—and with delays over six months. The FASTER system, which promised 72-hour automated refunds, is now defunct. Manual refunds have made no progress in four years. Working capital has dried up. Here's the staggering reality: as of FY2024, the government owes the textile sector Rs. 55 billion in sales tax refunds, Rs. 105 billion in deferred sales tax, Rs. 25 billion in duty drawbacks, Rs. 100 billion in income tax refunds, Rs. 35.5 billion in DLTL/DDT dues, Rs. 4.5 billion in TUF payments, Rs. 3.5 billion in markup subsidies, and Rs. 1 billion in RCET differentials. All these funds remain stuck. Exporters aren't asking for subsidies—only timely refunds of their own money to reinvest. But the state seems dependent on private sector liquidity to manage its fiscal distress. Policies in Pakistan shift in the blink of an eye. Just rewind a few years. 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There is no room for illusions anymore; the government must face reality and act decisively. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
