Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Airlines suspended operations at BKIA following an attack on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight PK-756. On June 24, armed men opened fire at the plane, killing a woman passenger and injuring two others, including a cabin crew member. Around 178 persons, including the crew, were on the flight which was coming in from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Soon after the incident, most Peshawar flights were diverted to Islamabad, the nearest international airport and passengers were shuttled there by bus by the airlines in question. That was a time bound courtesy extended by the airlines; now passengers will have to arrange a ride to Islamabad or other international airports themselves.
“I travelled (by road) for seven hours to reach to Islamabad which is more than my scheduled flying time to Saudi Arabia (four hours),” said Sakhi Jan, 51, a resident of Bannu. He used to reach the airport three hours before the flight’s departure, but, Jan added, this time he had to leave his house at least 10 hours in advance.
Feeling sorry the attacks took place, Jan said the incident only brought a bad name to the country. “It should not have happened. You feel the brunt of such incidents more when you have to interact with people from other countries who see Pakistan with the view of an outsider,” Jan said.
Salamat Khan, a resident of Swabi, who visited Peshawar airport to inquire about the date of his departure, was informed his flight will now leave from the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Islamabad since Saudi Airlines no longer comes to BKIA.
“They told me to reach the airport three hours before the scheduled flight departure time to avoid the rush since most passengers travelling from Peshawar will go via Islamabad. Better to reach earlier and get my boarding card,” Khan said he was informed by a customer services agent.
After international airlines stop servicing Peshawar, passengers will be forced to travel with PIA to their destination abroad regardless of the national carrier’s poor repute.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2014.
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Think International flights should be halted from Peshawar until things get under control after the operation