Smoke rises above the city skyline in Riyadh, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran. Photo: Reuters
LAHORE:
Flight operations across Pakistan continue to experience severe disruption due to the ongoing Iran-US-Israel conflict. Thousands of passengers are canceling travel plans and airlines are suffering heavy financial losses, aviation sources said.
More than 90 flights were canceled on Monday from airports across the country, including Allama Iqbal International Airport, amid continued insecurity in the region.
According to airport sources, over 110,000 passengers traveling from Pakistan to countries including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan have sought ticket refunds due to the flight suspension.
In the last 17 days alone, around 1,955 flights from Pakistan’s airports – including Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Peshawar and Quetta – have been cancelled, causing billions of rupees in losses to domestic and international airlines. Travel agencies have also suffered losses of millions of rupees.
Data shared with Express News by airlines and travel agencies indicates that the Iran-US conflict has pushed the aviation industry to the brink of crisis, with more than 55,000 flights canceled worldwide.
In a related incident, an Emirates flight (EK-623) from Lahore to Dubai was forced to turn back midway due to security concerns. The flight with over 100 passengers landed safely at Lahore airport.
According to representatives of the travel industry, the crisis has hit travel companies seriously.
Khawaja Ayub Naseem, head of the Travel Agents Association, said travel agents typically earn between Rs1,000 and Rs3,000 in service charges on each international ticket. However, the ongoing wave of ticket refunds has wiped out earnings as new bookings have almost stopped.
He added that this period usually sees a surge in travel, with thousands of Pakistani expatriates returning home to celebrate Eidul Fitr with their families and Umrah pilgrims traveling to Mecca, but the flight suspension has disrupted those plans.
Airport authorities said flights between Pakistan and several Middle Eastern destinations, including Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, Iraq and Azerbaijan, remain suspended, with only limited flights.
However, flight operations will continue for destinations including Saudi Arabia, Muscat, Europe, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, airport sources added.
