Flight operations resume at major Pakistani airports
Flight operations at multiple airports, including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi, have resumed after an eight-hour suspension prompted by escalating tensions between Pakistan and India.
Aviation officials said that multiple flights resumed from major airports. At Karachi airport, two international flights and one domestic flight operated on Wednesday, signaling the gradual restoration of services.
From Lahore, the first flight to Karachi - PA-401 operated by a private airline - departed.
Meanwhile, international flights from Karachi saw varied schedules.
PK-607 bound for Dubai departed ahead of time, while TK-709 for Istanbul was delayed.
Passengers wait outside at Jinnah International Airport after all domestic and international flights were cancelled. AFP
Additionally, Jeddah-Lahore flight PK-842, which had landed in Karachi due to escalation, was sent onward to Lahore Wednesday morning.
Despite resumption of airport operation, the Pakistan International Airline (PIA) suspended its regular flight operations for 12 hours.
On the other hand, Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) officials said Islamabad's airspace is open for flights.
Furthermore, they said that Islamabad Airport's flight operation has also been restored as four private planes landed here.
Meanwhile, the PAA has issued a new Notam (Notice to Airmen), announcing the re-closure of Lahore's airspace for various flight routes.
The Notam states that the routes within Lahore's airspace will be closed for 24 hours.
The Notam also confirmed the resumption of flight operations at the Islamabad Airport. It said incoming flights will be permitted to arrive in Islamabad after coordination and assistance from the Air Traffic Control.
Pakistan had suspended flight operations at major airports following India's attack inside the country on Tuesday-Wednesday night.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
26-05-2025
- Gulf Today
Gaza, from prosperity to below the poverty line
For millennia Gaza served as a commercial hub and bridge between Egypt and the Eastern Arab World. Palestinian writer and activist Edward Said wrote about travelling from Cairo, where his family resided, through Gaza and Jerusalem en route to the Lebanese mountains to escape Egypt's sweltering summers. Palestinian friends said their relatives living in Jerusalem would travel to Cairo via Gaza in winter to escape the cold. Israel's war in 1948 put an end to Gaza's strategic geography and commanding role in commerce and travel. For most in the Arab world, the 72 per cent of Palestine Israel occupied as a 'black hole' and the Palestinians who remained were snubbed. The large Gaza district was reduced to the narrow coastal strip. The population of the strip swelled to 80,000 due to the expulsion of Palestinians from the conquered areas of the district and of 200,000 refugees from elsewhere. Although Israel first occupied the strip for six months between October 1956 and March 1957 due to the Anglo-French-Israeli war on Egypt, the territory was administered by Egypt the rest of the time until mid-1967. Gazan farmers grew vegetables and fruit and tended livestock. Foreign visitors lodged at Mrs. Nassar's Marna House. A train linked Gaza to Cairo and the wider world. Flour, rice, fertilizers, clothes, cement, equipment, cars, trucks and belly dancers were imported from Egypt. Gazan educators, engineers, and medics travelled via Cairo to the Gulf for work. Gazan businessmen carried on a lucrative trade with Egypt and students flocked to universities in Cairo and Alexandria. The Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA sheltered, fed, educated, and trained refugees and employed thousands in its administration. After conquering the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza in June 1967, Israel rendered the strip dependent, de-developed its economy and employed Gazans to work in mainly menial jobs in Israel at low rates of pay and without social insurance. Gaza's dependence increased after Israel withdrew its soldiers and settlers in 2005 but retained air, land and see control of the territory. Hamas seized control in mid-2007 from Fatah, dividing Gaza from Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority (PA) enclaves in the West Bank. While the PA boycotted Hamas, Israel waged war on Gaza in 2008-2009, 2014, and 2021, and severely restricted the flow of food, building materials, medical supplies, and commercial goods into Gaza which never recovered from each bout of warfare. Gazans opened a brief window of independence and economic normalcy by digging more than 1,000 tunnels at Rafah beneath the border with Egypt. Through the tunnels Gazans freely imported everything, including cars, livestock, clothing, food, and fuel while Gazans could enter and leave Gaza. A tunnel economy emerged, creating tunnel millionaires. Hamas collected taxes on imports, businesses, and the wealthy. However, tunnel independence ended in 2013 when the Egyptian military closed the tunnels after the 2011 fall of Egypt's 30-year president Hosni Mubarak. Since then, Israel has exerted full control over supplies entering Gaza. Gazan consumption has been kept at a minimal level. Today Gaza has 2.3 million people of whom 1.6 million are of refugee stock. An estimated 81 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the UN. Since the ongoing war began in October 2023, the International Labour organisation reported the economy has shrunk by 85 per cent and unemployment has risen to 80 per cent. In consequence, the ongoing 19-month war and repeated periods of blockade have taken a heavy toll on the population, depriving Gazans of nutritious food and essential medicines and lowering their resistance to starvation and disease. Israel's recent authorisation for 90 trucks to enter Gaza last week is castigated by UN and aid agencies as being totally incapable of meeting Gazans' needs which are enormous and enduring. While aid agencies boost supplies during ceasefires and blockades are not in force, they cannot store enough to meet needs when supplies cease. This year, supplies began to run out at the end of April but there was no relaxation of the blockade. The situation at present is dire, forcing bakeries and communal kitchens to close and hospitals and medical facilities to ration medicines and dressings for wounds. Disrupted aid deliveries of water, food, medicine, and fuel and the lack of imports of fresh fruit and vegetables have left most Gazans in want and malnourished. Like all the other peoples of the coastal region, Gazans are used to the "Mediterranean diet" which includes fresh salads, vegetable stews, vegetables stuffed with meat and rice, yoghurt, milk and cheese. Gazans are not used to relying on uncertain meals of rice and tinned vegetables when they can access these ingredients. They are not only being starved of the food they are used to consume but meals which provide what is needed for balanced diets and nutrition. The UN children's agency UNICEF has reported that 9,000 children have been treated for malnutrition this year while hundreds more could not reach medical centres due to insecurity and displacement. The US-Israeli creation of the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, set to become operational at the end of this month, has been rejected by the UN and aid agencies as a solution for Gaza's starving Palestinians. This mechanism will provide supplies for only a portion of the population at the outset before expanding. Not all Gazans will be covered. This mechanism will vet recipients, the six hubs for distribution are to be in the south, forcing Gazans living in the north to be displaced to the south or starve. US mercenaries and Israeli troops – who are seen as enemies by Palestinians – will impose security. The situation is desperate and getting worse. The UN Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said last week that at least 244,000 Gazans face Phase 5 classification for 'extreme deprivation of food. Starvation, death, destitution, and critical levels of acute malnutrition are or will likely be evident." All Gaza is in Phase 4, characterised by "large food consumption gaps and excess mortality," IPC said.
Gulf Today
22-05-2025
- Gulf Today
All foreign airlines resume flying over Pakistan except Air France: PAA
After the recent ceasefire between Pakistan and India, all foreign airlines except Air France have resumed flying over Pakistani airspace, Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) officials said. Air France continues to divert its flights, leading to substantial additional fuel expenses. Meanwhile, Pakistan has decided to extend the closure of its airspace for Indian flights by another month. Under International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations, airspace restrictions can be applied for only one month at a time, requiring periodic extensions. India had closed its airspace to Pakistan flights on April 23, prompting a reciprocal move by Islamabad the next day. Earlier this month, amid military clashes between Pakistan and India several major international carriers, including Swiss Air, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Emirates, suspended use of Pakistani airspace due to heightened security risks. As a result, flights to Indian cities such as Amritsar, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai were rerouted, extending travel times and raising operational costs. The PAA officials said that since the ceasefire, airlines such as Swiss Air, Lufthansa, British Airways, Etihad, and Emirates have resumed normal operations and are once again flying through Pakistani airspace. Flights heading to India and other destinations are now using the more direct routes over Pakistan. Despite the return to normalcy for many carriers, Air France flights to Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai continue to avoid Pakistan's airspace. This ongoing diversion has resulted in millions of dollars in additional fuel expenses for the French airline. According to aviation sources, other Air France flights to various countries are also bypassing Pakistan.
Gulf Today
16-05-2025
- Gulf Today
Dubai-based flydubai's inaugural flight lands at Peshawar's Bacha Khan Airport
Dubai-based budget airline, flydubai, has launched its daily flights to the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said on Friday. Peshawar's airport is a major passenger hub with 75 per cent flights internationally bound, according to the PAA's website. The inaugural flight of flydubai, FZ 375, 'arrived at the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar early on Friday with 164 passengers,' the PAA said in a statement. It added that the flight was given a water cannon salute at Bacha Khan Airport, which is a traditional aviation gesture to honour inaugural flights. A cake-cutting ceremony was also held on the arrival of flydubai, the statement added. The Dubai-based airline will operate daily flights to Peshawar from Dubai, flydubai had said in a statement. The PAA noted that air connections from Peshawar to Gulf and European countries will be expanded. FZ 375 departed back to Dubai at 2:20am PKT with 184 passengers, the statement concluded.
