Three Chinese nationals arrested after drone shot down over new Islamabad airport

Drone's wreckage and foreign nationals taken into custody

Three Chinese nationals were arrested on Thursday after an unidentified drone was shot down over the newly-constructed Islamabad airport.

According to a spokesperson for the airport, three Chinese nationals were trying to film the new airport through a drone. Airport Security Force (ASF) officials acted immediately and shot down the drone and took the wreckage and the foreign nationals in custody.



The government pushed the inauguration of the new airport back by nearly a fortnight to May 3, 2018.

Earlier, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had announced that the new Islamabad International Airport (IIA) would start full operations on April 20, after being inaugurated by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

But with the premier having flown to the UK to partake in the Commonwealth heads of state meeting, the CAA in a notification on Wednesday said that the inauguration and operations at the airport had been rescheduled.

The move comes after Adviser to Prime Minister on Aviation Sardar Mehtab Abbasi visited the airport on Wednesday.



The aviation advisor directed the CAA to complete additional tests and trials in order to improve the reliability and efficiency of systems at the new airport and to bring in line with international standards.

During the tour, CAA Deputy Director General Amir Mehboob also gave a presentation to the media on the features of the airport.