PIA resumes flight operations to Gulf region

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has resumed its flight operations to the Gulf region after a temporary suspension.

Despite the resumption, flight schedules across major airports including Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad were disrupted, with delays reported in the departure of at least 55 flights.

Airport authorities have attributed the delays to operational adjustments and are working to restore normal schedules.

According to airport sources, a total of eight flights from Karachi to Jeddah, Doha, and Istanbul were cancelled. Additionally, two Dubai-bound flights operated by foreign airlines were also cancelled from Karachi.

In Lahore, five international flights headed to Sharjah, Muscat, and Riyadh were also cancelled due to operational constraints.

Meanwhile, 5 flights from Sharjah to Peshawar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were canceled, the national airline’s Lahore flight from Lahore to Madinah was delayed by 13 hours while the flight from Lahore to Dammam is also delayed.

The national airline flight from Islamabad to Dubai was delayed 15 hours, with two flights from Bahrain to Islamabad delayed by more than 4 hours.

Earlier, In light of the recent tensions, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) had made several changes to its flight operations to ensure passenger safety.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has temporarily stopped its regular flights to Gulf countries due to rising military tensions. This decision came after Iran carried out a retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Qatar.

A PIA spokesperson said on Monday that flights to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Dubai have been suspended. Several Gulf countries are currently on high alert after Iran responded to American airstrikes on its nuclear sites by targeting the US base in Qatar.

PIA said flights will start again once the situation becomes normal.