Says partially restores flight operations on some routes from Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi to Dubai, Gulf countries
Pakistan has fully restored flights to Saudi Arabia and partially resumed flights to Dubai amid widespread disruption caused by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, the state-run Radio Pakistan reported Friday.
Tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply after US and Israeli airstrikes last week assassinated Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials, triggering a wave of retaliation from Tehran and widening the conflict across the region. In response to the attacks, Iran launched retaliatory strikes on US military bases in several Gulf countries, significantly expanding the scope of the confrontation.
The situation caused several countries to close their airspace.
Citing aviation sources, Radio Pakistan reported today: “Flight operations have been partially restored on some routes from Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi to the Gulf countries. Full flight operation has been restored for Saudi Arabia and partial flight operation for Dubai.”
Read: 578 flights canceled in 5 days amid Middle East tensions
Pakistan’s international airports had experienced widespread cancellations due to ongoing regional tensions in the Gulf. More than 570 flights to Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar, have been canceled since February 28.
The airlines affected included Emirates, Etihad Airways, Air Arabia, Pakistan International Airlines, Airblue, Flydubai and Qatar Airways.
On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Ishaq Dar said the government had taken comprehensive steps to provide relief to Pakistanis stranded in Iran and other Gulf countries.
He said special facilitation counters had been set up to help returning Pakistani nationals. Pakistan’s embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulates in Jeddah and Dubai actively assisted Pakistani nationals, while similar arrangements had also been established in Tehran, Zahedan and Mashhad.
Officials said disruptions and airspace closures in several Gulf countries had caused Pakistan an estimated revenue shortfall of Rs20 billion.
Globally, the crisis has led to large-scale disruptions in air travel. Despite governments and airlines arranging special flights to evacuate travelers stranded in the region, more than 13,000 flights have been canceled internationally.
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, flights in the region account for around 900,000 seats each day, indicating that the number of affected travelers could already exceed one million.
