Inaugural flight from Thai far South to Jeddah

BANGKOK, September 7 (TNA) - Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, has launched its direct flight service from Narathiwat province in Thailand's Muslim predominant far South directly to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to facilitate travels by Muslim brothers and sisters to perform their annual Hajj pilgrimage. Thai Deputy Prime Minister Police General Pracha Promnog presided over the launch of the new aviation service at Narathiwat's airport on Saturday morning, allowing Muslims attending the Hajj pilgrimage to travel from Narathiwat, instead of travelling to Bangkok to catch their flights from the Suvarnabhumi International Airport. THAI direct Narathiwat-Jeddah flights and vice versa will also help Thai Muslims to save their transport costs for their annual Hajj. Meanwhile, two THAI flights were first arranged for passengers. The first flight, with 279 passengers, was set to depart from Narathiwat for Jeddah at 1:30pm, while the second, with 197 passengers, is scheduled to leave for Jeddah at 4:05pm. This year, Thailand receives a quota to send 10,400 Thai Muslims to attend the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, some 6,000 of them live in the southern Thai region. (TNA)