Cancellations affected several destinations including Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Muscat, Abu Dhabi
KARACHI/LAHORE:
Flight operations between Pakistan and the Middle East faced major disruption on Tuesday as at least 64 flights were canceled from major international airports across the country due to the changing situation in the region.
According to aviation sources, the cancellations affected several destinations including Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi.
At Karachi airport, 20 flights were cancelled, Islamabad 10, Lahore 16, Peshawar 10 and Sialkot eight. However, flight operations to the Middle East from Multan and Faisalabad remained normal.
Officials said flight cancellations between Pakistan and the Middle East had reached 1,687 over the past 18 days.
Meanwhile, airport sources reported that the total number of canceled international flights from eight major airports, including Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport, stood at 101 on Tuesday alone.
In total, around 2,000 flights to and from Pakistan – covering the Middle East as well as other destinations – have been canceled over the past 18 days. In some cases, flights were forced to return to the air or were unable to take off due to rapidly changing conditions.
Sources said the escalation in tensions between Iran and the United States had thrown the entire regional air traffic system into disarray, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.
Special flights that had been launched from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to relieve stranded passengers were also suspended again as the situation worsened.
On Tuesday, 101 outbound international flights were canceled from eight major airports, including Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot.
Despite cancellations, around 50 special flights from Middle Eastern countries landed at airports including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi to help repatriate stranded passengers
