UK-bound passengers throng ICT airport

Passengers landing in Britain from Pakistan to stay in isolation at hotels at own expense

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad International Airport (IIA) was thronged by passengers on Thursday anxious to return to the United Kingdom after Pakistan’s placement in the travel red list.

Hundreds of passengers wanting to return to the UK waited for hours in queues.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and other services’ staff faced difficulties in managing the unprecedented rush at the airport and enforcing Covid SOPs and precautionary guidelines.

The passengers who reach the UK till April 9 (today) are not bound to stay in quarantine in hotels for which they are to bear the expenses themselves.

Sources said the national flag carrier, the Pakistan International Airlines, initially announced five flights to Britain and later added three more to cater to expatriates wanting to return to the UK before the April 9 deadline.

Owing to the large rush of people wanting to travel to the UK, the price of an air ticket shot up to a whopping 1,600 British pound sterling. Sources told The Express Tribune that the passengers landing in Britain from Pakistan would have to stay in isolation at hotels at their own expense.

From the IIA, six PIA flights were bound for London and Manchester to land there before the deadline. One flight was delayed as boarding could not be completed on time due to the rush of passengers.