Morning fog in Karachi disrupts flight operations

Dense fog enveloped Karachi and the surrounding areas Thursday morning, partially disrupting flight operations at Jinnah International Airport, delaying and cancelling several domestic and international flights.

Visibility dropped to as low as 50 metres at the airport and in nearby areas, including Gulistan-e-Johar, Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Malir, and DHA Phase VIII.

At least 10 inbound and outbound flights were affected due to the fog. At the same time, several domestic and international flights were rescheduled for later hours in the day, with some shifted to evening schedules as low visibility persisted.

Pakistan International Airlines’ Karachi-to-Lahore flight PK-302, scheduled to depart at 8am, was delayed. Flights operated by foreign airlines from Karachi to Jeddah and Riyadh also faced delays.

Qatar Airways’ Karachi-bound flight, scheduled for 9am, was delayed and rescheduled for 4:30pm. A private domestic airline’s flights from Karachi to Lahore and Faisalabad were also delayed.

Flights operated by Flydubai from Karachi to Dubai, Saudi Airlines from Karachi to Jeddah, and AirSial from Karachi to Lahore and Peshawar were also among those affected.

The disruption also led to the cancellation of six flights. These included Air China’s CA-946 from Karachi to Beijing, AirAsia X’s D7-109, bound for Kuala Lumpur, Air Sial’s PF-123 to Islamabad and PF-145 to Lahore, and Airblue’s PA-206 to Islamabad and PA-404 to Lahore.

Heavy fog was also reported in Jamiatur-Rasheed Ahsanabad and Gulzar-e-Hijri, Scheme 33.