Mideast crisis forces cancellation of 64 flights

KARACHI/LAHORE:

Flight operations between Pakistan and the Middle East faced major disruption on Tuesday as at least 64 flights were cancelled from major international airports across the country due to the evolving situation in the region.

According to aviation sources, the cancellations affected multiple destinations, including Doha, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi.

Karachi airport saw 20 flights cancelled, Islamabad 10, Lahore 16, Peshawar 10 and Sialkot eight. However, flight operations to the Middle East from Multan and Faisalabad remained normal.

Officials said cancellations of flights between Pakistan and the Middle East had reached 1,687 over the past 18 days.

Meanwhile, airport sources reported that the total number of cancelled international flights from eight major airports, including Lahore's Allama Iqbal International Airport, stood at 101 on Tuesday alone.

In all, around 2,000 flights to and from Pakistan — covering the Middle East as well as other destinations — have been cancelled over the past 18 days. In some instances, flights were forced to turn back mid-air or were unable to take off due to rapidly changing conditions.

Sources said the escalation in tensions between Iran and the United States had thrown the entire regional air traffic system into disarray, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Special flights that had been launched from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to facilitate stranded passengers were also suspended once again as the situation deteriorated.

On Tuesday, 101 outbound international flights were cancelled from eight major airports, including Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan and Sialkot.

Despite cancellations, around 50 special flights from Middle Eastern countries landed at airports including Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi to help repatriate stranded passengers