Up in air: Dubai-bound flight delayed at BKIA

PESHAWAR:

An Airblue flight scheduled to leave for Dubai from Bacha Khan International Airport (BKIA) on Saturday was delayed for several hours.

According to officials of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the pilot’s health was the reason for the delay. “Flight PA610 was scheduled to depart for Dubai International Airport at 11:50am,” a CAA official said. “Since the pilot was not feeling well, the flight was delayed till 3pm.”

However, when asked, Airblue’s regional office claimed the flight was delayed due to operational and technical reasons.

The delay has greatly inconvenienced passengers who were forced to wait in the departure lounge for several hours.

“We were issued boarding cards at 9am,” said Shahryar Wahid, one of the many passengers flying to Dubai early Saturday afternoon. According to Wahid, as the time for departure drew closer, it was announced that the flight would depart at noon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2015.